Tuesday, August 7, 2001
When I'm on the road and staying in a motel, I'm often leaving early for that day's responsibilities. But by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made! I have new, clean towels! Everything is straightened and neat. I even have new little soaps in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! Now, I know that not because I've seen the maid (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 sure can see the difference they 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. Proverbs 3:5-6 - it might be your favorite - "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 own 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. 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." Now you know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you've gone totally ungreeted? Nobody noticed you? You were saying to yourself, "Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice me." God knows that. 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 90s. He's working hard to care for his wife because her health is really 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, 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...other people...or yourself--you've missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies, the small miracles, the interventions, the encouraging surprises, the bad things that didn't happen. I know there's never a day where He doesn't show up because 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--His much-loved child. You'll see God all over your day--if you're looking for Him.