You probably expect God to show up during the more extraordinary or dramatic moments of your life. But He is always with you, even in times that seem so ordinary you'd never expect to encounter Him.
Here are some ways you can find evidence of God in unexpected places in your life:
- Remember how God has poured grace into your life, loving you and helping you overcome mistakes when you make wrong decisions.
- Consider how God leads you through the maze of life's difficult decisions. Recall how He has skillfully worked out numerous details in your life to accomplish good purposes. Realize that even when situations turned out in ways you hadn't planned on, if you'd trusted God, He worked things out even better than you'd expected.
- Think about all the people God has placed in your life to encourage you and model holy living for you. Thank Him for a friend or family member whose faithfulness inspired you and helped you grow into greater spiritual maturity.
- Discover the joy of using the unique talents God has given you to make positive contributions to the world. Experience the thrill of God using your service to other people.
- Recall the many ways God has provided just what you need when you needed it.
- Thank God for the many prayers He has answered in your life, including prayers you had thought might be on subjects too unimportant for Him to care about. Remember that God is intimately interested in you and cares about every aspect of your life.
- Consider the times you have been able to resist temptations because the Holy Spirit gave you strength.
- If you've ever had an encounter with an angel, thank God for the messengers He sometimes sends to help us.
- Take communion and experience how God uses the ordinary elements of bread and wine to draw you deeper into His presence.
- Think about the acts of kindness you've benefited from, in which God's love was flowing through other people into your own life.
- Consider how God uses people who are different from you to help you grow.
Adapted from The Fingerprints of God: Seeing His Hand in the Unexpected, copyright 2002 by Nancy Hoag. Published by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Book House Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., www.bakerbooks.com, 1-800-877-2665.
Nancy Hoag, an award-winning author, is also a wife, mother of three, and grandmother of five.
How have you recently encountered God in an unexpected way? How do you try to look for evidence of God's presence during the ordinary moments of your life? Visit Crosswalk's forums to discuss this topic by clicking on the link below.