Page 16 - Evidence of Things Unseen

having to walk in this sin filled world of heartaches and sorrows. He has not known the grief
of falling short of God’s perfect will, of being overcome by sin and bringing shame to the
name of Yahweh. Like Enoch who walked with God and was no more, for God took him, so
my son was taken into the presence of all that is holy. We are all creations of God created
for His pleasure, and it is only just and right that God should choose the life for each of His
children that pleases Him the most. With this I am content.
Perhaps some who are reading this have been in similar situations. Maybe you have
been in an automobile accident, or encountered some other loss or suffering. We all have
an opportunity to see the hand of God in these things and to respond accordingly, or we can
choose to live in unconscious reality. We can live as if we are on our own and that God is not
present, nor is He in control of our circumstances. We can choose to pursue a carnal path
of getting all that we can by any human means possible, and relying upon the institutions
of man to be our defense and source of succor. Yet it is always best to rest in God, to hear
from Him, and to believe and obey.
God is present in the tragedies and triumphs of your life. He is as close to you as He
was to David in all of his life. “The steps of a man are ordered of the Lord” (Psalms 37:23).
We must choose to believe that God is present in our lives. Only then can we respond to our
circumstances in a manner that is acceptable and pleasing unto Him.
Let me share another occurrence in our early married life that also demonstrated
powerfully the presence of God in ordering our footsteps. One year we received a tax refund
of about $600, and when it came we decided to go to a nearby Sam’s club and stock up on
some groceries, for our pantry had become depleted. As we were driving up the Interstate
toward the store I thought of another young couple in the church whom we were good
friends with. They also had young children, and I knew that making ends meet was a
struggle for them. I mentioned them to my wife and I suggested that we could get two
grocery carts at Sam’s, and everything we bought for ourselves we could also buy for them.
Since God had just blessed us with this money we could well afford it.
My wife was excited about this idea, and in great agreement with me. So we proceeded
to the store and ended up spending several hundred dollars on groceries. We swung by our
friends’ house on our way home, and they came out to greet us. We told them that the Spirit
had led us to buy them some groceries, and we opened up the trunk of our car to give them
their portion. Upon hearing and seeing this, the wife of this couple began crying. She then
told us that her husband had just lost his job and she had only moments before asked “How
will we eat? What will we do for groceries?”
God had answered her concerns, and the question she had vocalized, so quickly that
she could only weep. God was demonstrating to her that He was present in her life, and that
of her family, and she need not act as if they were on their own and left to their own
resources. It also spoke volumes to me. We left them their groceries and then had to hurry
home to put up our items, and on the way I was amazed as I pondered how God had
directed our steps, giving my wife and I both the desire and the ability to do this thing when
we did not even know the circumstances occurring in the lives of our friends. The Scriptures
state:

Philippians 2:13
It is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in
you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and
satisfaction and delight.