God in My Life

How aware are you of God's presence in your life? Do you watch for the things that He is doing in the circumstances and relationships of your life? Do you sense His movement in the comings and goings of your day? These have been the thoughts that have recently been challenging me.

In our neighborhood women's Bible study we are going through Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God." While I did this Bible study over ten years ago, its lessons are speaking to me once again. Dr. Blackaby states over and over again that God is always at work around us. And we need to watch to see where God is already working and to join Him in that work.

Yesterday I was at a Women's Retreat where our guest speaker, Carolyn Arends, shared a personal story that, for me, highlighted this idea of God's activity in my life. Carolyn told how she and her family had been on a vacation in Maui a couple of years ago. Shortly after their arrival at the timeshare where they would be staying, they noticed that they were not alone. Much to their dismay, the family discovered that they were sharing their accomodations with a little gray mouse.

This mouse must have been pretty comfortable with people, because in the evenings, it would make its way right out into the living area. Carolyn shared how her peripheral vision became very attuned to the movements of this little critter. She said that by the time the family headed home, she was constantly aware of the presence of this mouse in their house even when she couldn't actually see it.

Now, I'm in no way comparing God to a mouse, and neither was Carolyn! But the point is, when you take the time to focus your attention on something, you become more aware of its presence even if you don't actually see it all the time. You become attuned to its movements. You know where it is and what it is doing.

I want to be that aware of God in my life. I want to understand and anticipate how He orchestrates the circumstances of my life. I long to recognize His movements, even out of the corner of my eye, and understand how I should join Him.

In that oh-so-familiar verse, Jeremiah 29:11, we are told, "For I know the plans I have you for you," declares the Lord." This is a beautiful verse of assurance from God about our futures. But I believe that part of those plans include Him using me to share His love with the people around me and accomplishing His will and purposes in this shattered and selfish world. How will I ever be able to do that if I am oblivious to His daily presence in my life? Quite simply, I won't.