Seeing God

“A noble and delicate soul, even the most simple, but one of delicate sensibilities, sees God in everything, finds Him everywhere, and knows how to find Him in even the most hidden things. It finds all things important, it highly appreciates all things, it thanks God for all things, it draws profit for the soul from all things.” Divine Mercy in my soul # 148

One of the quotes of St. Theresa of Calcutta that always struck me is when she was asked how she deals with the destitute and poorest everyday. Her reply was “one Jesus at a time.”

Several years ago, I was asked to lead a men’s Emmaus retreat. This entails a lot of extra work, planning, coordination and of course, prayer. I talked to my wife and prayed about it over the weekend before making a decision. With the many hours of commitment through the 6 month preparation period, wife and family support is critical.

After several hours of prayer, I knew this was something God was asking of me. I called the ministry head and agreed to lead the spring retreat. As soon as I hung up the phone, I lifted two prayers to God. The first was “Thy Will be done, Lead me.” The second was more detailed. “I told God that I was able to see Him clearly in hind sight. It was easier to see His touch and actions in the past. But, I asked Him, “starting today, please let me see You in the moment. Not just afterwards.”

God answered right away. On the train to work the next morning, the seats filled quickly. I got up, offering my seat to a lady who had boarded. When I arrived at work, I stopped at the building door to hold it open for two women to enter. Normally, I wouldn’t have thought much of these actions, I was raised to be a gentleman and this was just what one does. But, that morning God showed me these actions were done for Him.

A few days later, early December, we had a cold rainy day. I had to walk across town to get to the train station but no worry, I had my umbrella. As I walked, I saw a woman approaching from the opposite direction. She was carrying one child and had another huddled close to her side, trying to protect her from the rain. They had no umbrella. I was in my own little world, not totally paying attention. The woman and kids walked past me. I took a few steps and suddenly my prayer came to heart. I stopped, turned and ran up to the woman. I offered her my umbrella, turned and walked away.

I had gone a few steps before I glanced back to see that they were ok. No one was there. I was surprised because we were only halfway down the block, there was no physical way anyone could have gotten to and turned the corner from my sight. I stood for a minute thinking and offered a prayer of thanks to God. Somehow, I knew this was another time that Jesus showed Himself to me. I smiled and turned to continue my walk. The rain ended within 5 steps and the sun broke through the clouds.

The goal of every Christian should be to live Colossians 3:17 every day. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Nothing we do is done for us. Every action on our part needs to be done with the goal of giving thanks to God and if done for Jesus directly. We may not be seeing Jesus Himself in the situation but I can guarantee you that He is watching and when we treat one of His family with love, He notices and is pleased.

So, I challenge you to make this prayer to God as well, “starting today, please let me see You in the moment.” Then, open your eyes to look for Him as well as opportunities to serve Jesus.

“Jesus came to the main entrance today, under the guise of a poor young man. This young man, emaciated, barefoot and bareheaded, and with his clothes in tatters, was frozen because the day was cold and rainy. He asked for something hot to eat. So I went to the kitchen, but found nothing there for the poor. But, after searching around for some time, I succeeded in finding some soup, which I reheated and into which I crumbled some bread, and I gave it to the poor young man, who ate it. As I was taking the bowl from him, he gave me to know that He was the Lord of heaven and earth. When I saw Him as He was, He vanished from my sight. When I went back in and reflected on what had happened at the gate, I heard these words in my soul: My daughter, the blessings of the poor who bless Me as they leave this gate have reached My ears. And your compassion, within the bounds of obedience, has pleased Me, and this is why I came down from My throne-to taste the fruits of your mercy.” Divine Mercy in my soul # 1312