Wink wink

I just want to start off by saying I love God's faithfulness.  I was initially unsure if I was going to be able to truly relate to Hagar after reading chapter one.  But as I sat and took time to reflect on why she rejoiced in the things that God told her; you know like, "Your son is going to be a jerk and cause strife. And he is going to have numerous offspring",  I started to see the bigger picture. Yes, she had a son and he was a mule of a man.  But that isn't where Hagar found her blessing.  No, you see she heard El Roi and His promises of a future. God gave her a vision and Hagar saw her "God wink" moment. She was going to one day be a grandma!  Yes, her strife causing mule of a son was going to be the instrument of God's promise to give her a daughter-in-law and a multitude of grand, great and great-great grand babies to lavishly love.  She fully and joyfully trusted that God would keep His eyes on her and the mule (Ishmael) And that He would continue to protect her and her offspring with His grace and love.


Thinking about the past few months; can you recall a moment when God blessed you with a "God wink", moment?  You know a little reminder that El Roi has a watchful eye on you.  For me it has been 1 Corinthians 13.  It seems like that verse keeps popping up everywhere.  Not only in Chapter 2 of, "The God Who Sees You", but on the radio, the group that my husband and I meet with on Thursday evenings, two other books that I started browsing through, and this morning God blessed me with it again. Greg and I got up and prepared our hearts for a beautiful rainy Saturday by doing our devotional together.  We were instructed to grab a pen and some paper.  Once we gathered our materials we sat together and began reading the devo titled, "The Love SAT".  And I immediately started to smile.  God certainly has a great sense of humor. 1 Corinthians 13 was the heart of the reflection.  At the end of this devo we were given an assignment to paraphrase this scripture in terms that apply to our marriage and/or life.  And we had a great time doing it.  It made us connect and see that what God had joined together, through our marriage, truly is a beautiful thing.  Because without love we are nothing.  I highly recommend you try doing this.  

In 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12 we are told that we are fully known by God.  That's right...we are fully known. When you let that sink in does it sound scary?  Or are you okay with that? What are some ways we could become more aware of God's presence and grow to know Him more fully? God is so complex that it would be quite impossible to describe Him in one word.  And this is why He has been given so many titles.  He is the Light of the world. From the beginning He was light.  And this is God's very essence.  He knows every detail about His creation.  He sees each seed sprouting.  He forms each raindrop.  He intricately places every feather on the birds of the air.  He sees it all because in Him there is no darkness. And He graciously provides this light for us to see the world around us.  He wants for us to have a well lit path so we don't stumble in the darkness.  And because we often find ourselves in dark places God blessed us with the brightest light of all; His son, Jesus.  The same God that formed the rain and placed the feathers on each bird fully knows me.  I can honestly say that there are moments that I tend to forget this truth.  I sometimes feel that because I cannot physically see or touch God that He cannot see or touch me.  What would it be like to let someone see us completely that didn't love us completely.  Scary and highly unlikely.  But God, the light of the world, sees us through the eyes of love.  His patient, kind, forgiving, unconditional love!  And His glory and grace shines all around me.  So there is no need to hide from such an extravagantly loving God

 It is difficult to understand how an unseen God lavishes grace on us.  And why and how He does what He does for us.  He doesn't think the way we think, and He doesn't do things the way we would do them. I find myself prayerfully telling God how to do things.  It usually sounds something like this,"Heavenly Father I praise you for this day.  Please draw my children closer to you.  Make them see you the way I see you.  Give them hearts to follow you. Bless the day ahead of me and keep us safe from harm"  And there have been time where I have shouted out, "LORD,  make every light green so I can get there fast and on time!"  I am pretty sure I am not the only one praying this because I find that I am hitting the red lights and the other driver, crossing my path, is getting all the green lights (God must have answered them first...lol).  Yes, I may often feel like God is answering others before me but in reality that's not true.  We need to step back and look at the big picture. The funny thing is I pray these commands and at the same time I am also praying for His perfect will.  I forget that His plan is not our plan.  He absolutely hears each one of our prayers or commands. And He is fully capable to answer them all.  After all He is God, the living Word, the Provider, Healer, Lover, Shepherd, King, Rock, Counselor, Bride-groom, Protector, and the list goes on.  We just need to allow Him to be our El Shaddai (All Sufficient One)

I pray that we all continue to open our hearts, minds and eyes to see the God who sees us.  I encourage you all to read your bible.  After all this is God's love letter to us.  And, depending on the weather, take a walk. Look at the trees and how they are lifting their branches as if the are reaching for heaven.  Or if it's a Willow tree how it appears to be bowing in reverence and prayer. And the sky, "the heavens declare the glory of God". I pray that you are able to see God in the little moments as well as the big.  Because El Roi, the unseen God, desires us to see Him.  And wants us to be ourselves with Him.  So, take the time to prayerfully seek Him.

And here are some things to reflect on as you read or don't read Chapter 3:

List five things you like about yourself and five things you don't like about you.  What is the trait you'd most like to have recognized or appreciated? Is there a part of you that you wish God couldn't see?

Is there a time in your life that you believe that you were a disappointment to God or missed His calling? And why do you believe this?

What are some mistaken ideas you have had in the past about the way God sees you?  What changed your mind or view?

Take a permanent marker and write the name of someone you love on the palm of your hand. (it come off with rubbing alcohol).  What did you take away from this experiment?

Think about a time that it was clear that God put you in a certain place at a certain time for a reason.  What was your reaction?

See you all next week