i saw God today... and yesterday... and i will tomorrow too

how often do we walk around wondering where God is? i feel like there are so many times when im just going through the motions, stuck in boredom, stagnant, wondering where in the heck God is and why in the heck i cant seem to feel or see Him working in my life. i drive myself crazy when i cant seem to grasp what He is doing which is of course incredibly ignorant because i am fully aware (and have been fully aware for that matter) that our God works in ways that are beyond my comprehension.

but let me tell you this...
for some reason or another, God has consistently put me in places where His glory surrounds me. i just forget to open my eyes most of the time. this morning, i heard a song by george strait that he has titled "i saw God today." now im not much of a country music fan at all so i am tempted to label this as divine intervention, but the bottom line is that this song helped remind me of God's presence in our everyday, casual lives. and even though his theology might be a bit off (hopefully you see that is not my primary concern at all - ever!), let me give you part of the lyrics:

Just walked down the street to the coffee shop
Had to take a break
I'd been by her side for 18 hours straight
Saw a flower growin' in the middle of the sidewalk
Pushin' up through the concrete
Like it was planted right there for me to see
The flashin' lights
The honkin' horns
All seemed to fade away
In the shadow of that hospital at 5:08
I saw God today

I've been to church
I've read the book
I know He's here
But I don't look
Near as often as I should
Yeah, I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I just slowed down to stop and stare
Opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today.

when i heard this song i was captivated. it was really weird. i sat back and thought of the big things that i everyday take for granted. for those of you who dont know or have forgotten, i go to school on top of a mountain. lookout mountain to be exact. people travel from across the country to see this place. i dont. i live there. from my room i can see mountains all the way to the smokies (thanks to some strategic branch cutting) and almost every evening i witness a breathtakingly beautiful work of art as the clouds and sky are painted with a stroke of perfection. i think we refer to this as a sunset. and theres more... just a couple weeks ago i was blessed to have the opportunity to visit lake tahoe in cali. along the way, we were able to visit sacramento and san francisco. i played on the golden gate bridge and teased downtown from my 36th floor room in the downtown hilton with the bay resting in the background. i bounced around fishermans wharf and shared a bread bowl of chowder with close friends along the waterfront. i talked to people with accents i had never heard and watched over a hundred sailboats mosey around aimlessly on the massive bay. in tahoe i saw mountains that immediately took my breath away. i saw a lake that looked like an ocean and again spoke and interacted with people from places i had never been. i had a five and a half foot base of snow with a hot tub that sat directly beneath the 10,000 plus foot peak of the mountain and friends with whom to share it all. yet still, even as i sometimes remembered that it was all there because of our sovereign God, i sat there as if i was king; as if this stuff was there because of me; as if this stuff was there by chance. and still more, i now sit in downtown st simons island on easter break with the sun beaming down on me from above. the ocean is just down the street providing a breeze sweet enough to drink. trees hang low over the roads giving shade while sidewalks follow the roads with the feet of families and couples and kids and friends.

point being, His glory, His work, His sovereignty, His love, His grace and mercy, His majesty - they surround us. they surround me. it can be as simple as a flower coming through the concrete or as big as 10,000 ft mountain. God's creation is designed to bring glory to Him; creation isnt designed to glorify itself. so as im thinking about that... i remember that im also part of that magnificent creation. simply put, im here to glorify Him; im not here to be glorified.

so for the time being, im not wondering what God is doing in my life, im not wondering if He is at work and im not wondering how He is working because i finally opened my eyes. and it really is a beautiful thing. if you havent opened your eyes in a while, beware bc it will consume you and it will force you into a surrender - im still gasping for air.

one other thing --> the surrender is beautiful and full of joy so prepare your voices to sing!

ps. i just landed a job with youthworks for the summer as a site director where i will serve as the main liaison bt youthworks and the community as well as the team manager of my yet to be assigned site. this will involve a lot of interaction with people and will place me in a position of leadership that should not be taken lightly. please pray that i will not be lackadaisical in my preparation for the summer. please be in prayer as i complete the necessary requirements for the job to start. and finally, give thanks with me for this wonderful opportunity to share in the growth of God's Kingdom through my time this summer as an employee of youthworks.