A God Thing

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him  who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask HIm?
Matthew 7: 7-11 NKJV

There have been many a situation in my life in which my only thought was, "This was Gods hand on my life!"  It seems that others have experienced this special interaction as well.  So much so that we have a name for this provision from God.  For those who have experienced it, it is a "God thing."  They are situations which we cannot explain away ourselves, so we attach them to our heavenly Father.  We don't do wrong in making this assumption, for God delights in providing for His children.  Not only that, He delights in walking each day with us.  A God thing may not involve provision at all, just a situation where we know in our hearts that our heavenly Father is invilved in our lives.  For His voice reaches us in different ways.  I recall going to visit my mom in the hospital shortly before her passing and feeling weary and out of hope.  It was at that exact moment that I received a text message from a co worker claiming, "Your mom is ok."  Now, this man did not know how my mom was doing nor my situation.  However, in that instant I knew that my mom was doing ok.  When I got to the hospital she was doing much better than the previous day.  A God thing.  As I said, God has his own ways of making sure we hear His voice.  That morning, in the midst of my sorrow, I was not fully listening for Him, but He made sure that I heard His comforting voice.  Maybe that is why Christ tells us not to worry, for our worries ultimately may leave us unable to hear Him.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3: 8-9 NKJV

I often like to think of God in the perspective of a loving parent.  For those of us who have been fortunate enough to have loving parents in our lives, we can more closely relate to this God thing.  For it is not only a parents gentle voice, but a loving rebuke as well that we often experience as God interacts with the lives of His children.  As we learn in 2 Peter 3, it is not our Lords desire that any of His children should perish, but that all would come to repentance.  It is not that angry parent we are dealing with here.  This is not a dysfunctional family, but one with a loving, forgiving Father.  Therefore, the interactions which God has with us are not meant for evil, but for the good of His children.  What parent would allow his child to fall into danger?  What parent would not gently warn his son if he was straying from his teaching?  This is the God thing.  Our Lords gentle voice to those whom He loves.  We do well to listen for His call upon our lives.  However, if most people are like me, where the stresses of  everyday life often make us shift our focus from that which is above to that which is in front of us, His voice often escapes our notice.  It is in these moments where Jesus will gently remind us of His presence.  The God thing.

~Scott~