Not long ago I sat listening to someone speak about their relationship with God and the way He involved himself in this persons life. As I sat there I saw the face of yet another individual light up when he began to explain to me how God paid him from time to time, in an amazing way, a visit in his life. Inevitably every time I hear something like this I am led to ask the person where was God all those other times when he was supposedly not visiting them in an amazing way? And believe me that while I understand what people mean I see this picture as being the same as someone saying that within their marriage the only time they are aware of their partner is when they are having sex with them.
You see in my view only those people that come into our lives from time to time and are not present everyday can visit us. Now as we all know God is always present in power not just when we come to Church, attend a conference, or a prayer meeting. So what do so many of us actually mean when we say God visited us?
If he indeed visits us sometimes does that mean that the rest of the time he is absent and not with us? In the New Testament we see the Holy Spirit reveal himself to the disciples in Pentecost. After this we don’t see this happening again though of course we see the spirit at work within and amongst them. Often through the mundane and the ordinary of every day life. Again while I understand that we all live in a time where only the extraordinary is reported and the ordinary ignored perhaps this is why we too only believe that God is only present when the fireworks are going off. Yet if we are honest the ordinary is present in all of our lives without exception and perhaps for a good reason as maybe thats what is really important in life and is therefore accessible to everyone unlike the extraordinary. You see the picture I am seeing here? Just like with our social media we too are dangerously flirting with the notion that God is only present in power when the extraordinary takes place. The rest of the time well I guess is too ordinary for him to be a part or it. At least not in a way that is life changing and transforming.
Furthermore consider how Yeshua spent most of his days with the disciples without doing any miracles whatsoever yet he was as powerfully present with them as he was each time he healed, delivered, or touched someone in pain. In fact Yeshua himself spent the majority of his life in obscurity within the ordinary rhythms of daily life. No miracles. No powerful encounters. Just building coffee tables and helping others with their DIY needs. I wonder what it was like for those Yeshua did work for. I wonder if they even had an inclination to even think that here was the God of the universe fixing something in their homes or delivering them a piece of furniture. As I look at these scenarios I see that perhaps the reason we falsely believe that Gods presence is not there in the same way is because we equal his presence with something miraculous taking place. And yes I do get that all of us claim and believe that he is always with us, yet if this is the case why is it that we don’t experience the same surge of life and excitement that we feel when these so call visitations are taking place?
Therefore with all this in mind I would like to invite you today as you begin a new day to consider the following possibility. Could it be that what we are so quick to describe as a visitation from God in our lives, instead be us describing what happens when we are a visitor in our own daily lives in the present moment where we suddenly notice His presence which has been there all along?
Understand – God and His power are always present – Yet, it will only be when we are able to see his presence within the ordinary of our every day lives that we will be able to finally understand how extraordinary each moment of our lives with him really is. Even when no miracles or signs and wonders are physically taking place.
-pablo-
Photo by Isabelle Smilie
