I recently was asked by a friend to write about how I’ve seen and felt God through certain circumstances for a project she was working on. Of course I happily obliged. I have story after story of how God has shown up in my 40 years of life, with many of them occurring in the past 6 years.
Between the way God showed up during both of my mom’s cancer diagnosis, or her stroke story, to how he healed my mother in law from Covid Pneumonia; let alone all the ways He showed up after Rick died, I have seen and felt God’s presence multiple times, in multiple ways. As I sat there typing out some of those stories, I re-lived the moments, remembering God’s faithfulness.
As I reflected on His presence in my life, I realized that all of these stories involved people. Either people showing up to support and help, or random conversations with complete strangers, or even people just simply praying for the situation. The thought washed over me that if I would have recessed into the shadows and closed off people during these times, I wouldn’t have these stories. There is a reason that God calls us to be in community with each other. This is why!
When we choose to limit our interactions and conversations with other people, we are limiting the ways God can show up in our lives. If I would have refused help from everyone and pushed them away, I wouldn’t have experienced conversations and situations that were critical in my healing. Choosing to not interact with new people would have resulted in missing the opportunity to show God’s faithfulness to others, and in turn reminding myself of how he has shown up.
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” 1 Corinthians 14:26
“When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,” 1 Corinthians 5:4
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
I end with this thought, what situations have you closed yourself off or pushed others away and, in turn, missed the opportunity to see God at work? Pray about those. Pray that God will change your heart to those kinds of situations so that you can see Him in his full Glory. If you open yourself up to the opportunity, you will be surprised at how God shows up in it.
Perspective for the Moment 