Self, when you’re tempted to think God doesn’t know your location…

…simply stop and remember the miraculous unveiling which took place in your very own living room this week.

How other than God’s very present and real interaction in our lives could you explain two men meeting for the first time subsequently walking out of your house three hours later as distant cousins?

Ahhh yes, God is good.  He is interactive. God, as our Good Father, takes delight in revealing details formerly unknown to us.  I believe God loves to watch His children’s faces as the cover of mystery is pulled back and we squeal with JOY over revelation!

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.   Psalm 139:16 niv

Let’s take a moment to reflect back on the chain of events:

This past Saturday night, suntanned feet man and I participated with Family Promise (a wonderfully hopeful homeless ministry in which our church has the privilege to participate).  We were to be the overnight hosts.  Being our first experience, we were anxious to meet our Family Promise coordinators, our beautiful guest families, and receive instruction.

While getting acquainted, I met another volunteer, Becky.  We hit it off right away, and the more we talked the more people we found we knew in common.

Becky, we discovered, previously visited a Sunday School class for which suntanned feet man was the substitute teacher.  She mentioned she enjoyed the lesson and his teaching style.

 

 

Finally, enjoying all the connections between us, I invited my new friend and Mike, her husband, to our Tuesday night home group for Bible study.  I gave her my phone number and just left it open-ended.  No pressure.

On Tuesday afternoon, Becky called me to say they would like to come – just to visit.  Wonderful, I thought to myself.  I love to make new connections with people.

Our home group regulars, Phil and Theresa, arrived first and then our guests, Becky and Mike.  We enjoyed lively discussion getting to know one another and then carried the fun into the fascinating Bible lesson – Jesus feeding the 5,000.  At the end of our time together, as is his way, suntanned feet man invited everyone to stay as long as they like for more life- sharing.

Before anyone could pack up to leave, I asked if everyone would share a bit about their roots.  “Where are you from?” we often ask here in the Atlanta area knowing hardly anyone is a native. Becky spoke up and mentioned she was born and raised in Georgia. Aha, our native southerner!

Mike mentioned casually that he is a transplanted northerner.  Suntanned feet man (a transplant from the north) perked up and asked, “Where abouts?” To which came the reply Pennsylvania. And then came from Theresa an excited, “So, is Phil”.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?  Psalm 139:7 niv

Amazingly, for the next hour, we watched as the men zoomed in on their similar origins. Mike began to text his older sister, researcher of her family’s genealogy, with Phil’s grandfather’s names going back four generations.  We laughed and waited while sister looked up the names commenting how absolutely incredible it would be if these two men would turn out to be related.

And then… Yes!  The answer was yes.  The two men were related by their great, great, great grandfather from Pennsylvania.

 

 

In my very vivid imagination, I see a picture.  This whole scenario looks like a place on a map – a crossroads – a rest stop, in which 6 people sat down together to share God’s Word and ended up connecting branches on a family tree back to a great, great, great grandfather from Pennsylvania. Of course, God has always known all the details which would be orchestrated to converge our paths – for this specific moment in time. He’s always seen the truth behind the veil where we see dimly.  To get to participate in this unveiling was exhilarating!

Self, having been a part of this glorious set of events, what of all the unknowns in your life could you believe is unknown to your Good, Good Father? Remember, Self, nothing is unknown to God.  He knows exactly where you’re located, where you’ve been and where you’re going!

Ponders:

1. Does this story speak hope into the shadowed, mysterious places on your life path?
2. What does it do for your faith, your heart to know there is nowhere you will ever go, no one you will ever meet, and nothing your Good Father will ever plan for you to do in which He has not already been, seen and known fully the exact details?
3. Does it provide strength for perseverance to know in Him there is no dark shadow of mystery, but full revelation and Light for your next step?
4. Do you think to yourself, “Well that’s really fun for them, but I don’t know that God is that involved in my life?”  Will you ask Father, “What do You want me to know about Your interaction in my life?  Are You divinely interactive in my life?”
5. Finally, will you watch on tiptoes, expectant to experience God’s answer to your questions?  I’ll stand on tiptoes expectant with you.