April 3

David and God Sightings

In our reading today David is protected in a variety of situations. God tells him to leave the city of Keilah just in the nick of time. David is just about to be caught in the mountains when the Philistines launch an attack at another city and Saul has to abandon his pursuit. The third situation is when Saul goes into the cave and David has the opportunity to show his loyalty by not killing him. All of these situations are either totally random coincidences or they are divine appointments, those are the only two choices we have.

Some questions for us who live in a day with Blackberries and Ipods.
1. Why don’t we see God working like this in our lives?
2. Has God taken a vacation in recent days?

I believe this lack of God Sightings is because of the influence of secularism in our lives. Secularism means that the supernatural can be removed from life as irrelevant. When secularism has characterized a people for a long period of time, it creates a great blindness to the acts of God. What we want to do as a Bible reading group is to develop the ability to see God acting in our world today, just like he did in David’s life. Begin to look for His answers to prayer. Learn to recognize the help He provides to accomplish His work in your world. Delight in the unexpected evidences of His care and thank Him when there is unusual linkage or timing that works to your benefit.

When practicing the discipline of God Sightings, these "sightings" will be recognized for what they truly are ‑ the actions of Christ on your behalf. As believers we choose to give Jesus the credit for what others might see as mere coincidence. This awareness of our Lord's presence is what we want to rediscover in our lives. A characteristic of all spiritual awakenings or times of genuine revival is an overwhelming sense of the presence of the Lord. Such a movement is sorely needed in our lives today.

Like the prophet Habakkuk we say,
"Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy."
Habakkuk 3:2

When was the last time you saw God working in your life? Ask God to open your eyes to see a God Sighting today.