04/05/2021
As we look back on our lives, even the times before we came to know God, and Jesus Christ, we recognize God’s hand moving in them. As we mature in faith we come see that His plan, and will for us, was at work long before we were able to know it for what it was. The love, and thoughts of God are surrounding us always, and He knows each of us, those who are good, and even the bad, down to our most intimate thoughts and life’s details. He asks us to humbly abandon our ways, and seek His, but are we walking this lofty road he has prepared for us? Are we seeking to know His thoughts for us?
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:9 ESV
As each of us hears, and answers the call of God through Jesus Christ, something amazing happens; we begin to see through eyes of ever maturing men and women of faith, and in so doing we find that the hand of God has not only has been moving in our past, but that it is moving in our lives today... right now.
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV
So how is it that these things are revealed to us? How is it that we can be unaware one day, and know something of Him the next? How do we come to understand the ways that God has moved so subtly in our lives; to see what once was indiscernible? This is mysterious, but comes when the Holy Spirit reveals God to us through scripture, through the life of Jesus Christ, and in communion with our own spirit... but our ears of faith must be attuned to His voice, and our spirit circumcised so that even the faintest whisper becomes a shout.
“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 ESV
Aren’t we thrilled when we look back on the events in our lives and see how God has lead us to where we are today? Aren’t we amazed to see that the road of our life, which once seemed so twisted, full of turns, and strewn with obstacles, was actually as straight as an arrow, and smooth as a baby’s skin? Isn’t it amazing how suddenly all of the crossroads that we struggled to make the right choices at are now so clearly marked? The lives we felt were incredibly hard, filled with happenstance, and controlled by chance were actually being offered to us by a loving God, and our troubles came as a result of our own attempts to wrest control of them from God, and to claim sole ownership over them.
“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:6 ESV
When I was a young man I had a plan for my life... like most young people do. I wanted to be a wildlife biologist, have a wife, children, and live in a cabin in the woods, but through some of the most incredible circumstances, I am now reaching old age after spending a lifetime as an information technology specialist, and living in a city, but I do have a beautiful wife, and amazing children.
Looking back I see the hand of God was on me through it all, because I am certain that my faith wouldn’t be what it is today if I had continued on the path that I had mapped out for myself. I once thought that my life was filled with twists, turns, and amazing events of good fortune, but as I have grown older, and more mature in my faith, I see that all the turns were only imagined, and that the things I once thought of as good fortune, or luck, were actually Divine Providence.
“And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:27-28 ESV
Do you see God in every aspect of your life? Are His fingerprints on everything that surrounds you? Well, if not, then you need to listen for His voice, and come to know Him in your life... not as a character in some book you might have read called the Bible, but as your Heavenly Father, the Living God who wishes to be in relationship with you. You need to read His living Word in the Holy Bible. You need to meet His Son Jesus Christ and let Him lead you in your faith... into seeing the divine Providence that is your life.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””
John 14:6-7 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the way you move in our lives, and for the intercession of your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord for revealing your presence to us as we grow in our faith, and for making known to us the many ways you care for us... even when we are unaware of your unfolding plan. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose hand is on us always, and who patiently waits for us to give our hearts, souls, minds, and strength to you. Praised be your name for working secretly in our lives. Great are you who calls out to us while we are yet sinners, and makes every good road lead to you. Merciful are you who sent your Son Jesus to usher us into your presence, and amazing is your grace that flows through Him. Hear our prayers Father, even those prayed for us by your Holy Spirit when the words escape us. Help us in our unbelief, and then reveal yourself to us in wonderful ways as we come to know the many ways in which you have made our lives complete, and directed us towards righteousness. Purify us in Christ, and see His perfection when you look at us on the day of judgement. Welcome us into Heaven, and seat us at your able forevermore. Then show us the entirety of our lives, and the loving role that your Divine Providence played throughout them.
Rich Forbes