All Around Us

Dear Friends,

Last week I led a group of folks from our church on a week-long missions trip to Piers Negras, Mexico. It was a great time of serving God, and of seeing how He's at work in another part of the world. As is our tradition on mission trips, we started each day with a short devotional, and then ended each day with a debrief. And each day, my favorite debrief question was, "How did you see God at work today?" It was always encouraging to hear how people had seen God at work in both the small and big details of the day.

But I think even more encouraging was the reminder that God is always at work around us - even when we're not paying attention. Jesus makes this clear in John 5:17, when He says, "My Father is always working, and so am I." The key for us is to see what God's doing - and then get involved. And of course, this is where we run into trouble because usually our days are filled with thoughts of us, and what we need to get done. But what our trip to Mexico reminded me is that, if I stay focused on myself throughout the day, I'll miss out on what God's doing. And what God's doing is always much better than what I'm doing.

So how do we get to the point where we're consistently looking for what God's doing in our daily routines? Well, I'm glad you asked, because I've got two suggestions. First, we have to begin by making His agenda a priority over ours. We have to humbly ask Him to make His desires our desires. When we do this, it makes it easier to slow down, set aside what we're doing, and look for what He's doing.

With that humble attitude in place, the second thing we need to do is put time and effort into deepening our relationship with God. To have a more intimate relationship with God, we need to learn to know and love Him more and more - and the best way to do that is to daily spend time reading the Bible He gave us, and talking with Him in prayer. When we're walking closely with God, we have a better understanding of His nature, character, how He works, and what His priorities are for His creation. And once we know that, it's easier to see Him at work - and to join in.

Whether it's in our activities, or our relationships, or our own hearts - God is at work. So today, let's ask Him to help us see what He's doing. And then, let's ask Him to help us set aside our own priorities, and instead, join Him in that work so that He can be glorified, and we can be fulfilled in living the life He's working out for us.

Amen?

Daniel