Tuesday, March 14 – Luke 12:35–59
I’ve been doing some experimenting in the last couple of years. I’ve been on the watch for “God moments.” These are when God shows up in the middle of a situation and cool stuff starts happening.
I’ve seen this happen when I pray for others or they pray for me. Often God will show up as we’re praying and something wonderful comes out of it. Interestingly enough, that “something” is often not at all what we were expecting. Sometimes it’s simply a sense of God’s presence. Sometimes it’s a sense that God’s got everything covered. Sometimes it’s a physical sensation of some kind. And now and then God will speak through the words of the one praying. Most of the time that person isn’t even aware of what’s happening. And, yes, now and then we experience a direct answer to what we’ve been praying for.
The kind of God moments I find really exciting are those when God shows up in an everyday conversation that has nothing to do with faith, religion, or church. We’re just talking about what we’re talking about and suddenly the whole thing turns into a holy moment, and we realize that God is up to something with us.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus must have experienced something like this when they met Jesus. When they finally realized that Jesus had been with them, they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?” (Luke 24:32 NLT).
In Luke 12:25-59, Jesus tells his disciples to watch and be ready for the Son of Man to show up when they least expect him to. I wonder if part of what Jesus was referring to are those surprising God moments that happen whether we’re in prayer, listening to a sermon, taking communion, when we’re reading the Bible, or just having a simple conversation. Whatever it is, they’re definitely something worth keeping a watch out for.
Questions for reflection:
- Have you ever experienced God’s presence in a surprising way? What were the circumstances? How did that impact you?
- What does it mean for you to watch and be ready for the Son of Man (Jesus) to show up in your life? What steps can you take to increase your ability to notice such moments?
Bible passages for further exploration: Malachi 2:17–3:5, Luke 24:13–35, Acts 3:1–10