A God Wink

We get them once in a while. They are little reminders from our King that he really is.

Yesterday I sent an overdue note to a friend of mine who had had a major life change. The note was just to check in. There was a free moment as I sat in an airport waiting for a plane home. The idea popped into my head that it would be a good time to send her a note.

She returned my note with this. “Hi, Dave! Nice to hear from you. Did you know this happens to be my 80th birthday!!”

I didn’t. Jesus did. A God wink. It was a good reminder from our King that he really is.

Recently, a former professor gave a presentation to some pastors. He said something to the effect, “Too many of us in the Church are functional atheists.” He did not accuse us of being atheists; he warned against living like them.

Let me encourage you to break out from “functional atheism”. Live, love and learn as if our King really is. Consider these four areas.

Reading the Bible: What if the Bible really is the word from God? What if it contains the greatest wisdom, hope and comfort ever written? What if it reveals the nature, work and reign of the greatest King ever?

Praying to God: What if there really is someone “on the other end of the line”? What if, even accounting for the mysterious ways they get answered, your every prayer ascends to the throne of the Father with both the Spirit and the Son interceding (See Romans 8.) on your behalf? What if, again in some mysterious way, prayer is a mountain moving power?

Loving Your Neighbor: What if Jesus really did die for that neighbor? What if the grace Jesus has extended you far outweighs the grace it takes to get along with that neighbor? What if in loving that neighbor it is the same as loving Jesus?

Living Anxiety Free: What if Jesus really is reigning at the right hand of the Father and continuing to storm the gates of hell? What if your heavenly Father really knows all that you need and promises to provide it in a way that transcends all that you could ask or imagine? What if there really is nothing, even given all the bad things there are, that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus?

God winks serve as reminders about the reality of God. Some may call them coincidences. I think of them, like G. K. Chesterton observed, as co- incidents: an act of God’s grace (incident 1) coordinated at just the right time to meet our circumstance (incident 2) to remind us that our King really is.

Perhaps this post is your “God wink”. Remember, our King really is.