I’ve known Jesus all of my life, thankfully.
Although it has only been 34 years, it’s safe to say my relationship with Him has grown in both depth and breadth. It has developed from the factual knowledge and simple prayers of my childhood to conversations, questions, life experience, and His loving and loyal presence of my adult years. In return, our relationship has become more of a “patchwork quilt” than a “dishcloth.”
The cool thing about Jesus (other than Him being the Son of God and my Savior, of course…haha) is that He isn’t pushy. He’s always available to talk or listen and He probably laughs at my jokes and little life-ironies more often than anyone just because He knows me best.
I’m not perfect and I don’t claim to be. I’m not always the best at initiating communication with Him or just being thankful for my life. Sometimes I get into a rut in my rhythm of Bible study, my prayer life disappears, my sinful nature rears its ugly head, or I start living on “auto” while moving through the motions and taking Him for granted. I’m not proud of it but it’s the truth and something I try to work on every day.
Just like in our human one-on-one relationships, sometimes it takes the other party to initiate contact, reach out, or just say “hey.” I’ve found that Jesus loves to initiate with me (what a gentleman, right?)…but it takes an open mind and eyes on my part to really “see and hear” it.
Recently, I’ve have two really cool “God winks” happen in relation to scripture and I thought that this would be a great avenue to share those with you!
The first one happened while I was sitting on the bleachers at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado a couple of weeks ago on a hot Monday morning. This venue is one of my favorite spots to visit because it combines breathtaking scenery and music. If I were to see a concert there sometime (which is on my bucket list) I’m sure it would be right up there with the Ryman in my heart.
Well, I had just finished writing a blog post about striving to make a point to be excited and aware of God’s presence in my life. As mentioned in that post, the verse that continues to jump out at me all throughout this year has been Psalm 73:23: “Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand.”
Sitting on the bleachers that scorching Monday morning, watching others working out and technicians setting up the lighting for a concert later that afternoon, I decided to bring out my daily devotional on my phone and do it there in the midst of the beautiful backdrop of the Colorado mountains. Opening up to that day’s devotional, I saw the same words that have been jumping out at me for the past 5 months!
It was a sweet moment.
I felt Jesus sitting there with me at that moment and, knowing how much I love a good God wink, feeling a little “hey” from Him was just what I needed. In the midst of the busyness of the trip, sight-seeing, and traveling around, He was there just wanting to say “Hey.”
The most recent God wink happened this morning, Monday, July 31st (I’m seeing a trend here with Mondays) 😉
I had just finished the July 31st daily devotion and looked over at the page next to it that stated August’s main verse: “You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” Acts 2:28 (NIV)
In case you didn’t know, this exact verse is the one that motivated my entire blog you’re reading on right now! In fact, my first Gmail account that was created after making this website was: joyousheart228@gmail.com (Acts 2:28).
I also love how this verse has my birthdate in it, backwards! (Acts 2:28 -> Birthday 8:22). So not only is my favorite verse August’s theme this year, but it’s also my birthday month which is a super sweet gift to me as well. Thanks, Jesus!
So let this encourage you to get into the Word and become more aware of what He wants to say to you. Find your favorite verses and read scripture more and more often. From my experience, God loves to speak to us in many different ways but what better way to say “hey” than from His book of love and grace that He sent to us.
Interested in devotional or Bible study materials?
- If you’re looking for an awesome daily devotional you may want to try the one I’ve been reading this year: “Jesus Always” by Sarah Young.
- Yesterday at church I learned about a new online Bible reference source called “The Bible Project.” Here, you can watch hand drawn summaries and hear recaps of the books of the Bible for further study. It’s so cool I had to share!
He is so good! Thanks for the reminder to be looking and listening for Him.
He sure is! 🙂
Thanks for your sweet words.
Thanks for reading them, Mary! 🙂