Every day carries its own God-story. Sometimes, His hand is so obvious that we cannot miss it. Other times, we have to pursue it by intentionally setting our hearts and minds on what He is saying to us.

It is in the tension of Him speaking and us listening, leaning in to hear His still, small voice, with a heart ready to obey, that we position ourselves to see His glory unfold.

“Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!”  (Psalm 68:19)

One of the most vital truths the Lord has made known to me in this season of my life is His unceasing mindfulness of us.  

“What is man that you are MINDFUL of him, and the son of man that you CARE for him?” (Psalm 8:4)

Before we could ever think of a thing, He had already thought of it. Before we could desire something, He had already desired it for us.   Before we could ever call Him, He already answered and while we are yet speaking, He already heard us (Isaiah 65:24). He knows the end from the beginning and He makes it known to us by the Holy Spirit Who is resident in us. 

His thoughts toward us are not occasional or distant.  They are steadfast.  His heart is continually heedful and attentive toward us.  His greatness may be beyond our grasp, yet His eyes never miss a single step we take or a single move we make.  He busies Himself with our every movement.  Indeed, nothing escapes His notice of us Whose care is intimately dear and near. 

Oh, how I deeply love these verses that speak of His largeness.  How it amazes me to know that the One who holds the vastness of all creation in His hands is also mindful of every detail of our lives.

“God’s love is meteoric,
    His loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
    His verdicts oceanic.
Yet in His largeness
nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
slips through the cracks.”  (Psalm 36:5-6 MSG)

One may think that these descriptions of God are simply too good to be true.  And, hmmm… perhaps that is exactly how they appear when viewed through the lens of an unrenewed mind.

The world may have its own definition of who God is.  I, too, once defined Him through my own limited understanding.  I saw Him as distant, too hard to please, seemingly unwilling to answer all my prayers, and easily angered.  My perception of Him was shaped by my unrenewed thinking, by my disappointments and by my unanswered prayers.

But, thanks be to the Lord our God, Who is rich in mercy and abounding in love.  He never left me where He found me.  Instead, He gave me this living hope and opened my eyes to see how deeply I needed Him, the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how needful I still am of Him. 

The divine satisfaction that His presence brought into my life made me realize that, indeed, when we seek Him and His righteousness first, everything else will just be ADDED unto us (Matthew 6:33).

The distorted thoughts I once had of Who the Lord our God is have been replaced by a deeper, ever increasing and more powerful revelation of Who He truly is, our loving Heavenly Father.  He is the Father Who put His love on the line by giving us His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, so that through Him we may have and enjoy life, in abundance, to the full, till it overflows (John 10:10).

What I once thought I needed outside of Him, I began to discover IN HIM. His presence became my pleasure and delight, His love became my assurance, and His goodness became the lens through which I learned to see Him for Who He truly is.

Oh how thankful I am that He made me see this powerful truth … “Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented Himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him.” (Romans 5:6-8 MSG)

See, His mindfulness of us involves this profound truth that He desires for no one to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but for everyone to have eternal life, to change the way we think about Him and His love for us, how cared for, provided for, protected and empowered we are IN HIM.

His mindfulness is not merely a beautiful truth for us to receive.  It is an invitation for us to live, explore and experience the reality of how deep, how wide, how long and how high His love is for us. 

“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” (Ephesians 2:10 AMPC)

As we become increasingly aware of Who He is and who we are in Him, our lives become conduits through which His goodness and glory can be made known throughout the earth.

One day, as I was declaring His Word, “I am the lender and not the borrower!” (Deuteronomy 28:12), almost in that very moment, I received a message from someone asking to borrow money, with a promise to pay it within a week.

I could not help but pause and chuckle a little at the timing, because this was not the first time something like this had happened. It had happened multiple times in the past.  It felt as though the Lord was reminding me, in such a simple and tangible way, of the very truth I had just been declaring and of how seriously He takes us at our words when they are spoken in faith and out of our fullness of Him.

A few minutes later, I simply responded, “Okay!” I asked for the account details, and without much hesitation, I transferred the money.

After one week, no payment was made. Two weeks, then three weeks passed… until two months had gone by. The only messages I received were apologies, accompanied by repeated promises to pay.

One of the things I have learned over the years is that when someone borrows from me, I need to make sure that the amount is something I can willingly release, even if it is never returned. More than that, I have learned to lend with a heart that is prepared to forgive.  

This does not mean that I did not value what was borrowed. In fact, I had a genuine need of that particular amount for my upcoming trip which made the situation all the more significant.  Moreover, I cannot simply disregard the responsibility to repay, regardless of how well I know the person who borrowed from me.

But, God had His own way of renewing my mind toward the situation. He simply helped me understand that, at this point in time, the borrower did not have the ability to pay and was being held captive by condemnation because of that inability.  At the same time, I realized that I, too, was being held captive, not by the debt itself, but by my expectation of getting back what I had lent.

Then, I heard a very still small voice from deep within me, “You are anointed to set the captives free.” 

Taking this revelation at heart, I messaged the borrower that I would no longer regard what was owed to me as a debt to be collected, but as a blessing to be released—a seed sown. I said, “You are now DEBT-FREE, and you do not have to pay me back!”

Almost immediately, words of gratitude began to flow freely. Praises to God were uttered right away.

With that simple act of obedience to the Word I had received, something far greater than the repayment of money took place.  Freedom was brought forth, freedom for the borrower from the weight of condemnation, and freedom for me from the expectation of getting back what I had lent.

That freedom became my loaded benefit for that day.  It was a tangible expression of the goodness of God and a reminder that sometimes the greater blessing is not in receiving what is owed, but in having the grace to release it.

Indeed, it is not enough to simply know the Word or to hear Him speak. We must also be willing to respond in obedience.   For it is our willingness and obedience that position us to experience and witness the fullness of His goodness unfold.

“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

The Living Bible Translation says, “For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed men’s souls; OBEDIENCE to every Word of God is what we need.” (Matthew 4:4 TLB)

Everyday moments can become holy invitations when we slow down enough to listen, recognize His voice, and respond in obedience.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You that I can freely and confidently call You my Father, knowing that Your heart continually longs to lavish me with Your loving mindfulness. You are never distant, never distracted, and never unaware of me.   Daily, I shall seek You, and yes, daily I shall find You, for You have promised that when we draw near to You, You draw near to us.  

Jesus, thank You for Your amazing grace and steadfast love. You never withheld anything from me, not even Your very own life. You gave Your all so that I may be made whole, complete, and fully satisfied in You.

Holy Spirit, thank You for unveiling my eyes daily to behold, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, that I may be transformed to His image and likeness from glory to glory, being His hand, His feet and His voice so that as He is, so am I in this world.  It is not by my might nor by my power, but only by You, Holy Spirit.  Amen!