Yes, God is working!

Most of the time we see God working after the fact. We can look back and recognize where His hand has been and see that it couldn’t have happened without His intervention. And then there are those few moments when time stops, and you know God is moving all around you right in then and there…

A few months ago, Michelle and I walked around a camp gathering information for a camp session we will be co-directing this year. This is something we’ve been praying about for years. We had talked to people, researched, emailed, made calls, done everything we could think of do in an effort to find a location for this girls’ camp.

As we toured the camp, asked questions, and took notes, we knew this was the place and things were going to work out beautifully. As a matter of fact, it was better than what we had been envisioning. I mean, this place even had air conditioning in the cabins!! What a gift that will be in the middle of July!

That day, we stood there in awe, look at the place for which we had been praying. What a blessing it was to see the outcome of years of waiting.

Our excitement grew as we looked here and there. We dreamed of what we could do in this field and that pavilion. We discussed how to organize each space into what would be needed to make this future camp session work. We talked and smiled and laughed and thanked God for providing for all of the different needs we had listed.

There was still just one more thing that we would need, internet. Our phones got some service, but wifi was what we were looking for. I know, I know, that is the kind of thing people don’t usually want to at camp, but this is not a typical camp. This camp will be for teaching teen girls how to be workers in the church. We will be teaching them how to teach children’s Bible classes, how to lead a girls’ small group Bible study, pray or lead a song with other women, organize events and programs in the church, show hospitality in our homes and church. And so, we will need lots of resources for the research, learning, and planning that they will be doing, which means either using the internet or bringing a lot of books and hard copy resources with us. But using the internet just wasn’t going to be an option. We decided it would be fine, and we would get that figured out later. God works all things out. He had already worked out the location; we knew figuring out resources would be nothing for Him.

We continued to walk and continued to ask question after question, (God blessed that camp director with lots of patience because we talked a lot!) and at the end of the field was a small building, something like a shed with nice windows. “What’s that building over there?”

The building used to be his office, “oh, I’m getting that ready to turn it into a library.”

“What kind of library?” I was quite curious, one, because I’m a former teacher and two, because I’ve never seen a camp with a library.

“A preacher’s library.”

Wait, what?! I almost fell over. That was it. That was the last piece that our camp needed. The internet problem was solved!!

Now, if you’ve never seen a preacher’s library then you might be thinking what’s the big deal. A preacher typically has an abundance of books used to teaching and learning and evangelizing…which is EXACTLY what we needed.

As we walked to see this yet-to-be library, I couldn’t breathe. I was overwhelmed with the power of God I was witnessing. I could feel the presence of God, as if He was moving the pieces on a game of chess ready to win. I knew God was smiling on this moment in time because His children recognized His hand at work.

It is so much easier to look back and see how God has worked in my life. I am consciously aware of what God has already done for me. But seeing God in the moment…if I had not already been noticing what He had done for us, I might have missed it. But I didn’t miss it. For once, I saw God working when it was happening.

It makes me wonder how many things I’ve missed, how many times I could have seen God in the moment if I had been looking for Him. God is always working in our lives. Do we see it? Do we see the little things that He does that could take our breath away if we were just looking?

Maybe our mindset has something to do with it. When we are thankful, do we see God more than when we are complaining or disappointed? Probably so. When we are in the habit of noticing what God has done in our lives already, do we see even more of what He has done? Absolutely! 

On our way to the van, I told my friend, “When we get in the van, I have to pray.” And we did. We thanked God right then for everything we had just seen, for Him providing, and for whatever else we knew He would do.

I know God is always working. Sometimes I miss it, but I don’t want to miss what God is doing anymore. I want to see God working, to be surprised by how He works. I want to tell my kids and family and friends about all the things that God has done. I want them to be amazed so that they will start looking for Him too.

What do you see? God is working! Do you see it?

In His defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.”  John 5:17