For God speaks in one way, and in two… Job 33:14 (ESV)
I am convinced that God is communicating all the time; we don’t always have our receivers turned on or we don’t perceive the message as coming from him.
Do you remember Tolstoy’s story of Martin Avdeitch who dreamed Jesus would appear to him the following day? The next morning Martin saw Stepanich shoveling snow and invited him in for a warm drink and told him about Jesus. Later, he saw a young woman with a baby shivering in the cold. He brought them in, gave them clothes, food, and money and told them about Jesus. Then he saw a boy stealing from an old lady. He settled their argument and gave love and compassion to them both.
That night as Martin grieved because God had not visited him as expected, the people he had helped appeared to him. That’s when he realized that God had indeed been present with him. He just hadn’t recognized him in his various shapes.
This weekend I was working in another city and discovered I had inadvertently left my pajamas at home. My team and I made a side trip to the local WalMart where I grabbed and paid for a colorful set of nightclothes with writing all over them. It was not until I was folding them later that I read the message, “All is well.”
Today would have been my mother’s ninety-first birthday. Every time I visited with her during her last year, she proclaimed to me, “All is well.” Thanks, Momo, for reminding me that our Father still reigns, and he still speaks.
Lord, open our ears, our eyes, our hearts to receive you however you wish to make yourself known. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.