Sometimes in life, things happen that seem like coincidences.
You see someone in the grocery store you were just thinking about.
You read a book and the heroine has your birthday.
Your vacation days just happen to fall during your family reunion.
Little things. Things that don’t seem to hold much significance but are cool nonetheless.
But other times in life, something happens—sometimes a string of somethings—and they stop you in your tracks and you go, “Whoa. That was totally God.”
A string of somethings like that happened in my life recently. I’d been worrying about some big decisions and some other things out of my control.
One thing about me—the biggest thing I struggle with is worry. I know I shouldn’t worry, and I know that I can control it, but for some reason, I tend to focus instead on things OUT of my control.
Which makes no sense.
But I digress.
So I’d spent a few weeks thinking and worrying about these few issues. And then one day, a song came on the radio: “Strangely Dim” by Francesca Battistelli. It’s beautiful, as is the singer’s voice, but these lyrics are really what caught my heart:
When I fix my eyes on all that You are
Then every doubt I feel
Deep in my heart
Grows strangely dim
All my worries fade
And fall to the ground
‘Cuz when I seek Your face
And don’t look around
Any place I’m in
Grows strangely dim
The song was so powerful I just sat there and worshipped.
Here was a command directly from God: stop worrying and SEEK MY FACE. When I can do that, my problems don’t seem so big. And even though I’m not in control, I’m looking to God and He IS in control…and that makes it all seem so much better anyway.
As if that weren’t enough, the VERY NEXT MORNING, my devotional, Jesus Calling, had this to say. Not even kidding, this was the first sentence:
“Save your best striving for seeking my face.”
Um, don’t know what you would do, but I fell flat on my own face and nearly cried.
Because the Lord, the Creator of everything, cared enough about me to stop me in my worry—in my everyday go-go-go—and tell me not once, but twice, that all I really had to do was seek His face.
Your Turn: Have you ever had a fall-flat-on-your-own-face moment because of something that seemed coincidental—but you knew it was anything but?
Since the age of six, when she wrote the riveting tale “How to Eat Mud Pie,” Lindsay Harrel has passionately engaged the written word as a reader, writer, and editor. She has a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in English, and is published in the Falling in Love with You anthology released by OakTara in October 2012. Lindsay lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband of six years and two golden retriever puppies in serious need of training. Connect with her on her blog or via Facebook or Twitter (@LindsayHarrel).
Hale and Hearty Words 