When You See the Hand of God

     Have you seen the hand of God lately?  It might be the beautiful sunset painted across the evening sky or the colors of the autumn trees.  It might be the mighty power of his healing hand at a time when modern medicine just isn't enough.  It might be making contact with an old friend and having a fun conversation.  It might be simple or complex, but you have to look -- open your eyes and look for it. 
     I have seen his hand so much recently.  Seems like when you start looking you start noticing more and more.  Today I had such a beautiful time in the scripture as he revealed some truth to me.  It wasn't necessarily pretty truth.  It wasn't something that was easy to accept.  It was something rather difficult, but it was truth.  In the revealing came understanding.  And in the understanding came peace. 
     I don't know about you, but I like to see the hand of God in the easy things.  Snuggling a baby and enjoying the sweet sounds of her laughter.  An evening and dinner with two sweet friends with no one else around.  Sitting quietly listening to the birds sing the last songs of the day as the sun sets in the western sky.  Dinner around the kitchen table. 
     When life gets tough, though, it's not always so easy to see his hand.  I'm not talking today about my cancer journey.  I am talking about the other tough things of life.  When things aren't easy.  A family member is unhappy and is suffering emotionally, thus causing grief and distress for everyone around.  Work situations are unstable and having a job tomorrow is in doubt.  The car broke down and there is no money for repairs because the kids are sick and need to go to the doctor, but you can't get there because the car won't run.  Those kind of things.  Sometimes they seem beyond impossible.  They seem to have rocked the world off it's orbit and you feel like you are spinning out of control.  You wonder if God knows.  And if he knows, will he do anything?
     My friend, I am here to tell you today that he knows.  Indeed, he knows.  He knows when we have fallen into a pit of despair and hopelessness, feeling that our feet are stuck in the wet, slimy mire and gunk.  I imagine an old well, you know, rock lined, picturesque in another situation.  But in this case, we've fallen in and can't get out.  Trapped.  Hopeless.  There is just enough water to make a thick, sticky mud.  The moss that has grown on the rocks is lose and tears away when we grab a handful to try to pull ourselves up.  The rocks are slippery from the water seeping out of the dirt which make them slimy and impossible to hold onto.  Our feet are so stuck that we can't even start to climb out.  How in the world will we ever get out of this mess?  Psalm 40 says this: 
 

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

 

     We must always remember that people are watching us in all that we do.  In the hardest of life's circumstances, people expect us to fall into the pit.  What they don't expect is that moment when they see our wonderful God lifting us out of the pit.  It is then, in the waiting, in the trusting, that we impact the lives of our unbelieving and questioning friends because we have believed God in an impossible situation.  So, my friend, where have you seen the hand of God lately?  Are you singing a new song of praise to your God?  How is that impacting the people who are watching you live?