Expecting God To Reveal Himself

Ask God to forgive your sin (selfishness) against Him, clearing out the decay that comes between your daily walk with God through faith in Jesus.

Expect God to reveal Himself to you - in big and small ways, through things you see, words you hear, and people who cross your life. Sometimes God will reveal Himself through your ministry to others; sometimes God will reveal Himself in the way you are encouraged. Sometimes you will need to look in the rear view mirror of your day and see how God revealed Himself.

In Exodus 7:1-13, God comes to Moses, who is living in the desert. He instructs Moses to go to Pharaoh, whom God has made stubborn. Pharaoh loves having more than 600,000 slaves to build his empire, and he is not about to free them. Freeing them would all but destroy the Egyptian economy. God tells Moses to go see Pharaoh and a supreme leader of the world to release the Jews from captivity. God tells Moses that Pharaoh will refuse to listen to Moses, opening the door for God to "multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. I will crush Egypt with a series of disasters after which I will lead the fores of Israel out of Egypt."

God told Moses: (a) Go to Egypt; (b) Do what I tell you to do; (c) Know that I will do exactly what I say I will do; (d) No human force can stop me; and (e) Expect it to happen.

Moses reaction (Exodus 3:11) was to doubt Himself and, in reality, doubt God. Moses was 80 years old. He was returning to Egypt, where he had committed murder. Moses sinned because he doubted God. Throughout chapter 4, Moses wrestled with God, offering excuses which God dissolved. In the end, Moses surrendered "self" to God plans, and God allowed Aaron to travel with Moses.

Imagine these two men standing in front of almighty Pharaoh. In a test-drive, God had revealed his miracles to them, but this was showtime. Exodus 7:10:  “So Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh, and they performed miracles just as the Lord had told them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and the court, and it became a snake. Then Pharaoh called in his wise men and magicians, and they did the same thing with their secret arts. Their staffs became snakes, too! But, then Aaron’s snake swallowed up their snakes.”

There are no forces more powerful than Almighty God. He speaks to common people just like me and you, calls us to work that only He can do, puts events in our lives that only He can calendar, and crosses our lives with people that only He can send. We must recognize that God can do things we can't understand and we must expect it, and be ready to act.

In Jeremiah 29:13, the people of Judah are in Babylonian captivity, and God says to them, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” That chills me to the core. You and I are captives to this sinful world – God says we will find peace, joy, love, hope, patience, courage and wisdom when we seek Him with all you heart – when we completely turn from the worship of the world – we will find a sweet spot with Him. He says, "I will show up." But, we must turn from the worship of the world and then seek God.

I've started to pray with an expectation that God will reveal Himself.

It begins with shaking loose the sour spots of my life, confessing that my actions and attitudes (even when some are rationalized as good), are sins against God. And, once I've made that confession, I have an expectation that God will reveal Himself to me. Most of the time, these revelations can just be a reminder of God's goodness in my life through a memory, or an encouraging word, or someone He sends my way. Most of these revelations aren't "big events," but small expressions of His love that my otherwise busyness would cause me to miss completely.

God is all around us. 

God is living in us.

God never sleeps.

If we can't daily see God at work, what does that say about us?

I believe God wants to reveal Himself every day and all the time. I believe He wants to encourage us, and remind us of His greatness. I believe He is calling us to be on mission with Him.

Last week, I went "home" to Georgia. I had not been since May. I love to stand in my mama's front yard, in the fall, with the wind rushing through those hardwoods and leaves falling all around. It's one of my favorite things to do and I wanted to experience it. My dad is having back surgery after Thanksgiving, and my visit also allowed me to go to his pre-op appointments with him.

As I drove to Atlanta, I prayed. I confessed my sins against the Lord, and then I prayed, “Lord, this is going to be such a busy trip; I pray that you teach me through others, that you allow me to minister as necessary, and that you reveal yourself to all of us.”

On Friday morning, my dad and I got up at 5:30 a.m. to make an 8 a.m. doctor’s appoint – 15 miles from their home. On the way to the doctor's office, traveling in the dark, drinking coffee, my dad began to pour out how proud he is of me. This is the serious side of my dad. He is a lover, and he loves to encourage the ones that he loves, especially when he has them one-on-one. I just listened as God spoke through Him, encouraging me to continue loving Vicki and the boys.

God showed up.

During the pre-op visit at the doctor's office, the nurse remarked that dad's blood pressure was a little high. As we got to the hospital for the pre-op testing, his blood pressure had gone higher still. As we sat in a small room, I asked him, “Daddy, are you nervous about this surgery?” He said, “Not nervous, but I do wish I didn’t need to have it.” Then, he really began to tell me just how the pain is – in his back, legs and feet. It is the byproduct of scar tissue from back surgery 50 years ago.

Soon, a nurse case worker came in – Elizabeth. Around her neck, she wore a cross. I know many people wear crosses for secular reasons, but there was something special about this nurse. There was a sincerity to her voice, a calming in her nature, and a wonderful "bedside" manner. As she talked to my dad, his desire to entertain the nurses with funny stories began to subside. He grew calmer. Elizabeth began fingering the cross on her neck. I believe she sensed my dad's nervousness about the surgery. As we talked, and as she worked the cross, I had this feeling that she was working to communicate with us without having to say the words.

Finally, she turned the conversation to Christmas. And, she stepped into unknown waters, telling us how she respected all religions, but that she much preferred "Merry Christmas" over "Happy Holidays." And, we agreed. And, that opened the door for her to say, "You know, Mr. Vaughan, you don’t have to worry about this surgery, right?” God was so powerfully there at that moment. She said, “You can be nervous, but don’t worry. Faith will see that everything works out the way it should.” It was probably risky for her to do that, but it was so wonderfully orchestrated by Almighty God.

God showed up. God revealed Himself to me. 

Moses was nervous, scared, inadequate and felling very out of control. God provided Aaron, and as Moses responded to God over self, God provided the strength and courage for Moses to move forward on mission.

God showed up.

This Thanksgiving week, and on into the Christmas holidays, you and I will be around a lot of people – family and friends, and strangers in Wal-Mart. Let me encourage you to turn from whatever selfishness is between you and God, and then pray that God will reveal Himself to you – in conversations, chance encounters, and quiet time with family. It may be that you are needed to minister to someone; it may be that God will encourage you through others. But, don’t miss the opportunity each day to see and hear from Almighty God, who loves each of us so much. 

God is all around us. Expect to see Him at work.