{"id":618,"date":"2017-02-05T21:48:21","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T21:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=618"},"modified":"2017-02-05T21:48:21","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T21:48:21","slug":"paying-attention-gods-presence-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/02\/paying-attention-gods-presence-lives.html","title":{"rendered":"Paying Attention to God\u2019s Presence in Our Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"desert-africa-bedouin-footprints<\/a><\/p>\n

It is hard to see how God is at work in our lives in real time. In the present, life seems very random.\u00a0\u00a0 On some days, we feel lucky, and on others we feel unlucky.\u00a0 It is only when we look at the past, that we more easily can see God’s hand in our lives.<\/p>\n

When I look back on my own life, I can see God clearly at work.\u00a0 For instance, when I was a teenager, He blessed me with a youth pastor who took a special interest in me.\u00a0 She made me feel like I wasn\u2019t alone when my parents went through a messy divorce.\u00a0 It is only in hindsight, 30 years later, that I can see how God blessed me with her mature and compassionate presence.<\/p>\n

However, the goal is to be aware of how God is at work in our lives today. Why?\u00a0 Well, when we are aware of God\u2019s presence, we feel at peace.\u00a0 We know that we are not alone.\u00a0 And we have hope.\u00a0 We know that God is working to make sure that we meet the right people and have the right opportunities, so that we can fulfill His purpose for our lives.<\/p>\n

Being aware of God\u2019s presence is not something that comes naturally to us.\u00a0 Instead, it is something that we have to learn how to do. We have to train ourselves to pay attention to glimmers of the divine in our daily lives.<\/p>\n

For instance, it is important to consider who God has chosen to place in your life. The world has 7 billion people.\u00a0 If out of all those people, God has placed certain ones in your life, it is for a reason.\u00a0 God will use some of those people to bless you.\u00a0 Others He may use to teach you a lesson.\u00a0 One person may be an example to you of how not to act.\u00a0 Another person may be in your life to expose your shortcomings.\u00a0 Someone may show you that you need to work on your patience.\u00a0 Someone else may show you that you need to be more compassionate.\u00a0 So, it is important to realize that people aren’t in your life randomly.\u00a0 Instead, God has placed certain people in your life for a reason.<\/p>\n

We also need to consider why we are in a certain place right now. So often, we wish that we lived in a different place or had a different job.\u00a0 But realize that God has you where you are for a reason.<\/p>\n

I lived\u00a0in the Middle East for two years.\u00a0 When I moved there, I was not thrilled. It was dusty and hot.\u00a0 Doing everything, from buying groceries to renting a car, was incredibly complicated.\u00a0 Often, I wished I was back in America.<\/p>\n

But while I was there, I became involved with an organization that helped Indonesian women who had been brought over to work as maids. These women had been abused by their employers, and had escaped to the Indonesian Embassy’s shelter.\u00a0 While waiting for clearance to return to Indonesia, we would visit them and teach them skills in English, computers and needlework.\u00a0 I taught them typing skills.<\/p>\n

Through my experience with working with these ladies, I realized that God had brought me to the Middle East for a reason. \u00a0God, in His infinite wisdom, had brought me there to change me.\u00a0 While living there, He showed me that there are so many people in our world who are vulnerable.\u00a0 Their emotional and physical safety is at the mercy of others.\u00a0 And sadly, there are people in our world who are neither kind nor decent, and who will take advantage of the vulnerable in our society.\u00a0 I learned that there is evil in the world, and it is our job to combat it with whatever resources that we have.<\/p>\n

We also need to pay attention God’s presence in our lives through the small tests that He gives us each day.\u00a0 When you become aware of God\u2019s presence in your life, you realize that a traffic delay is not merely a traffic delay.\u00a0 It is God testing your patience.\u00a0 That rude family member is not an irritation, but rather is God testing your maturity.\u00a0 The frustrations of life aren\u2019t random.\u00a0 Rather, they are opportunities for God to see if we are growing spiritually.<\/p>\n

This week, consider how God is at work in your life. Pay close attention to how He may be using your circumstances to mature you.\u00a0 Think about the people in your life, and consider how He may be using those people to bless you (or to teach you a lesson).\u00a0 God is constantly at work in all our lives.\u00a0 We simply need to become attuned to His presence.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is hard to see how God is at work in our lives in real time. In the present, life seems very random.\u00a0\u00a0 On some days, we feel lucky, and on others we feel unlucky.\u00a0 It is only when we look at the past, that we more easily can see God’s hand in our lives.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPaying Attention to God\u2019s Presence in Our Lives - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/02\/paying-attention-gods-presence-lives.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paying Attention to God\u2019s Presence in Our Lives - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is hard to see how God is at work in our lives in real time. 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