Do you expect God to speak to you today? I’ll admit, sometimes I think I miss it because I don’t expect it. Let me share something that reminded me to pay attention and look for the moments of Sudden Glory when God speaks.
Bob told me about a visit to Vietnam where he met with a leader of an underground Christian church. This leader, who had spent a large part of his life in prison for his faith, told Bob many stories of the growth of Christians. Approximately 1 million believers met in hidden huddles all around the country. “What everybody wants is to see God move,” the pastor explained.
And isn’t that the desire of your heart…to see God move in your life and in the lives of those you love? Jesus reminds us, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). Always at His work. Always. And yet, do we expect to see it? Are you and I willing to raise our expectations and anticipate seeing God’s glory through His work in our lives today? Are we willing to raise our expectations to experience moments of sudden glory where God makes His presence known? Click & Tweet!
I sat with a group of fellow Baby Boomers as Bob shared about his experience with this Vietnamese pastor. And at the close of the discussion, Bob opened up the floor for us to tell of a time when we had experienced God moving in our lives.
“When I was sixteen…” one began.
“When I was twenty-seven…” another chimed in.
“Several years ago…” still another shared.
I was struck. We should have all been waving our hands and excited to begin with these words… “Yesterday God showed me…” “This morning God revealed to me…”
Why do we have to go so far back into the archives of our lives to look for that one time we recognized God moving in our lives? I dare say that we miss the glory moments that flash before us and even linger around us because we don’t expect them to be there. Click & Tweet!
I want to challenge you to make a list. Get a notebook or a journal and write A Sudden Glory across the top. Then begin chronicling how God makes Himself known to you today…and tomorrow…and the next day. Click & Tweet!
David wrote:
“I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend your words to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,|
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness. (Psalm 145:1-7 TNIV)
That is a party I’d like to attend! David recognized what God was doing in his own life. He listened to what God was doing in other people’s lives. And then he invited all to join together and tell about the glory moments in a grand celebration. Merriment at its best. “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story!” (Psalm 107:2 TNIV).
And I would love to hear yours! Use the comment section to share a time when you really sensed God’s presence!
Dear Father, open my eyes, my ears, my heart. Help me to see You working in my life today. Please don’t let me get so involved with the busyness of life that I miss the Source of Life. I’m looking. I’m listening. I’m paying attention. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
My book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More, is all about raising your expectations to experience the full, abundant life that Jesus came to give. If you’ve settled for a ho-hum, so-so Christian life, it is time to start enjoying the abundant life Jesus came to give. God wants you to experience His presence every day through moments of sudden glory where He makes His presence known. Ready to get started? Download a free sample chapter or watch the videos on my website! The book also includes a Bible Study Guide in the back that is perfect for groups!
And for you married gals, if apathy and indifference has crept into your marriage and you don’t know what to do about it, check out my book Lovestruck and get out of that funk!
Comments 13
The last four months I remember seeing God moving in my life and talking to me at least three times. Last Friday I saw him again. After an argument at home my husband sat at our patio and turned on worship music and stayed there for maybe three hours, meditating. I have never seen him doing that for such a long time in 21 years. Two days after, I heard him praying and asking to the Holy Spirit to fill him up. That is a God’s move! Hallelujah.
That is wonderful. Praise God! Your beloved husband inviting the Lord to soften his heart so that he may lead his household with calm reassurance and not from a position of stress and anger. I love how the tenderness sleeps through in your words when you describe hearing him pray…lovely post, sister in Christ and an example for so many.
Hello Sharon, the gift of aging…I am 67…is looking back and seeing, and truly recognizing, how God was at work in all aspects of my life. I loved those. But now, I am able to see daily God’s hand in HIS creation. My friends and I were playing golf one afternoon at our club in Sapphire, NC. In the middle of the fairway we all just stopped and looked at the splendor around us and collectively began singing the doxology. It was a precious moment I will always remember. Fellowship with friends who love the LORD and keeping our eyes upward is a daily gift.
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That just about made me cry. Beautiful.
oh how beautiful! I know God was moved by you ladies praising Him out in the openness for all to see and hear!
I really wanted to make the over 700 mile trip to visit my Canadian cousins this past summer. I hadn’t been to see them in over 4 years. My brother and I planned to make the trip, but finances were tight for both of us and I just kept trusting God to make it possible. I figured out the approximate cost of gas, motels, meals…and had that estimate in mind. I cut my expenses as much as I could (including the cable!) My self-employed brother had lots of work, but jobs kept getting held up for one reason or another…so by the time payment was made, he needed to pay the phone bill…the electric bill…And then one day I came home to find an unexpected check in the mail from my bank. Seems that when they did their annual balance of my mortgage escrow account, it was too high, so they refunded me…in the exact amount I had estimated for trip costs! We made the trip in early September… the weather was beautiful, we had almost no construction delays, we had a lovely visit with friends and relatives, including some we didn’t expect to see…and I have the money to pay the credit card charges! Now that’s God’s blessing on me!
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That is sooooo awesome!!!! I love it when God gives us those surprises!!!!!!
Every single time I go outside or just look out a window, God shows me his Glory! When I see the intricacies of my beautiful okra blooms, I’m amazed at the pattern that begins on the sheathed green bloom reappearing on the white flower, then again on the okra itself. I see God daily in birds, pets and glorious greenery. I never tire of seeing and thanking the Lord for these daily observations and the big acts of Glory.in my life and relationships.
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Me too.
God showed up time and time again for my sister in-law who passed from pancreas cancer. Where there seemed to be no way. Her tumor was too big to remove. She received radiation and chemo. It shrunk enough to remove and perform the whipple surgery. Her tumor had no living cells in it which is called a complete response to chemo and radiation. The stats is only 20% of those with a stage III and are treated to shrink the tumor have it shrink enough to remove surgically and I do not know the stats on complete response. She survived 4 1/2 years after diagnosis. There are many more stories. During that time, it was like the mighty hand of God was moving so strong in our family. He made a way where there was no way.
I heard God tell me to go to my estranged father’s house 10 years ago. I obeyed and ended up getting his stage 3 colon cancer diagnosed and treated. All glory to our Abba!
I recognize His love and protection daily- a weed that looks like my favorite flowers daisy- or a deer that stands at the side of the road instead of crossing in my path; a peaceful night of sleep.
It is everywhere if we pay attention.
This morning as my husband got his work computer ready for the day, he realized he had left it out in his parked truck. When he came in he was a little out of breath having realized he had left in on the front seat in full view with the doors unlocked all night! I reminded him that was a “God Thing” and that is when I usually say “Thank You Jesus!” He agreed. There are so many little things.
This morning as my puppy had an accident on the floor, it brought me close to the front of the fridge where there was something leaking on the floor. Had I missed that spill it could have caused a slip and fall. So even tho I was grumbling at the puppy accident, I had to thank Jesus that I caught the other leak. Sometimes we do not see Jesus using something that initially seems negative to show us He is there for a positive.
We need to see him in the good and the bad. Give Thanks for all things.
Hi! I had a great big moment with God that made me want to jump up and down,. and shout, run and do cartwheels. I was so excited. I was on a mini vacation with my husband and mother-in-law. We went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to where Country Woman Magazine is published. We went for a walk in the sand along the shore of Lake MIchigan and I was in awe at how big it is. You can’t begin to see other side of it. God seemed just seemed SO BIG! As I was walking along and the Footprints poem came to mind. The poem was very special to my family, my Dad loved it and this was about 6 years after he died. It was then that God very clearly spoke to me and asked “What is it like walking along the sand?”. He compared it to walking along on a hard surface. I answered that it was really hard. Then He told me, “Life is like that. When it gets really hard I will carry you.” And it wasn’t just a couple days later that I needed Him to carry me. Some would say I had a nervous break down, which was a saying back then. I could not control myself. He took over then and carried me. It was such an awesome experience.