13 Nov God Hiding in Plain Sight

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them? Psalm 8:3-4 (NIV)

What the psalmist here is telling us is that in the vastness of the universe, the earth is but a tiny speck. And we are a speck of a speck on that speck. Yet God cares about us. He doesn’t just care about us; He is intimately involved in every detail of our lives. I want to share a personal experience to drive home this point.

Six years ago, not too long after I came to Christ, I was working for a news website that required monthly meetings near the State Capitol Building in Madison, an area known as The Capitol Square. While walking to one of the meetings I noticed a panhandler ahead. Most of my adult life I followed the advice of not giving money to panhandlers as it simply encourages others and that it’s counter productive because you don’t know what they will do with the money.

So, from about a half a block away I prepared. Eyes forward, sunglasses on, pretend he doesn’t exist. Everyone else passing the man did the same. Yet he chose to speak to one person: me. As I passed he said: “that’s right, pretend like you don’t see me.” To say I was caught off guard is an understatement.

I kept walking. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit pinged me. Who said, “act like you don’t see me?” Was it me, or was it Me? Did God speak through that man? After all the man spoke to no one else. The further I got from that man, the louder I heard the Spirit. I finally swung around and headed back. I gave him $5 and you would have thought he won the lottery. I don’t know what he did with the money, and I don’t care. The God that created the universe was concerned about that man and about using me for His purpose. Regardless of what the man did with the money, I serve God’s purpose every time I share that story. That man was God hiding in plain sight.

The sun, the moon, and the stars are God hiding in plain sight. He is everywhere; in everything we see, in everything that happens.

Lord, our Lord,  how majestic is your name in all the earth Psalm 8:9 (NIV)

In this month when we focus on thankfulness and gratitude, let us give thanks that our God is everywhere and in everything. Let us give thanks that the God who created all we can know and believe, and think is never far from us. When you take time to see Him hiding in plain sight, it’s hard not to be thankful!

Pastor Jerry Bader