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The Messenger
By Phillip Rutledge
Matthew 5:8 (NIV) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
One of the joys in our Christian life is experiencing what some refer to these days as, God Sightings. As believers I feel we should be alert to and experience at least one God Sighting every day. However, many of us often find ourselves too busy getting on with our lives that we unfortunately blind ourselves to these sightings. It’s easily done. I know from experience <smile>. Another reason for missing these God sightings is that they may only appear for a short period of time.
What is a God sighting? Although not found in any dictionary that I am aware of; a God sighting is simply seeing God at work in our lives. The joy we feel when God makes available to us, a little of His handy work. It’s a moment in time when God allows us to experience His love – a moment to give thanks.
It might be as noticeable as someone whose life is spared when death should have prevailed. It might be as subtle as the miracle of birth; or as peaceful as someone introduced to Jesus just before death.
The world will explain it away as a coincidence. I’m sorry, I don’t believe that.
This week I visited an elderly friend who was recently admitted to a retirement home so that he could receive additional care following his stay in hospital. He is a gentle, humble and Godly man. It might be said that he is in the winter of his life. His memory isn’t what it used to be. One by one, his wife and most of his siblings have passed away. He is now under the blessed care of a loving niece and nephew, for he had no children.
Well, low and behold, as I entered the retirement home, I recognize him with another resident from the home, smiling and strolling down the hall. Without any prior knowledge, here out of all the homes in Essex County, God placed him in the same facility as a cousin of his whom he hadn’t seen in years. God placed him with family. Now there, I believe, is a God Sighting.
Jesus described seeing God in The Beatitudes as he began his Sermon on the Mount. Beatitude is defined by one dictionary as “heavenly happiness or bliss” and by another as “blessedness: a state of supreme happiness”. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught his disciples how to find that “supreme happiness”.
God sightings are all around us and He gave us a variety of senses in order to experience them. They might come to us through sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch. It is my prayer today that God might take a moment and reveal to you – a God Sighting.
Take care and God Bless,
Phillip Rutledge – phillip@staidansministries.com
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