Monday, October 2, 2017
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When I'm on the road and staying in a motel, I'm often leaving pretty early that day for the responsibilities I have. But by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made and I didn't make it! I've got new, clean towels! I didn't find them. Everything's straightened and neat. I even get these cool little soaps now that are in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! Now, I know that not because I've seen the maid (actually I haven't), but because I can see the results of her work all over the place.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God All Over Your Day."
He is, you know. It's not unlike that maid scenario. You may not see the one who made the difference, but you can sure see the difference that He made, if you're looking for it.
If you've ever been to one of those church meetings where they ask people to share their favorite verses, you've probably heard somebody mention our word for today from the Word of God. It's a lot of people's favorite verse. Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Notice what's the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your heart: trying to figure it out for yourself, doing what you think is best - leaning on your own understanding.
Now comes a formula for finding out what God wants you to do in any given situation. Well, we need that. Verse 6 says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." Now, God says, "If you want to know My heart for you, acknowledge Me in every situation you're in." You know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you've gone totally un-greeted, un-noticed? Well, you were saying to yourself, "Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice I'm here." See, God knows that feeling. He shows up all through our day, and we often never notice Him. We don't acknowledge Him.
The other day I was really blessed in a place not normally associated with blessing-the dentist's office. I was in the waiting room and I saw an old friend with his wife-they're both in their 90's. He's working very hard to care for his wife because her health is deteriorating. Because it had been raining when they came in, my friend asked the dentist if he could help him get his wife out to the car. My dentist came back in, really touched by what had happened in those two minutes-so touched that he brought it up two more times. He said, "When I went out with George and his wife, it wasn't raining. And George said, 'Isn't it great that the Lord stopped the rain long enough for us to get out to the car?' Then he just looked heavenward and said, 'Thanks, Father.'"
Now that's acknowledging Him. That's noticing God's working in the details of your day. And that's where praise comes from, where joy comes from, where a victorious attitude comes from in the toughest of times. But you have to go into your day looking for God at work. If you don't, you'll miss God and you'll miss the joy. But if you do train your heart to go on a daily God-hunt (God-sightings, you know), you'll experience what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon talked about when he said, "He who looks for providences (or God-actions) will never lack a providence to observe."
If you haven't been seeing God a lot lately, it's because you haven't been looking. You may have been focused on your circumstances, or other people, or yourself or what's stressing you out. You've missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies, the small miracles, the interventions, the protection, the encouraging surprises, the bad things that didn't happen. I know there's never a day where He doesn't show up because the Bible says His "mercies are new every morning!"
In those transformed motel rooms, I seldom see the maid, but I see the results of her work. In the little and big moments of your day, you may not see God, but you can see the results of His work on your behalf because you're His much-loved child. You'll see God all over your day if you're looking for Him.