Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the every day occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
I frankly admit that I am dependent upon the immigrant community. Cirilo, who lives with us, gives an hour or so a week in return for a basement room free of charge. And because he is a Master Gardener, has a huge work ethic, and is fast, he accomplishes more in that short time than I can in a day of labor—I promise you this is no exaggeration.
Willie Lopez takes on freelance painting jobs and dropped past after work one afternoon to see if we were ready to have the exterior of the house painted as we had talked about last summer. We agreed on a very fair price and set the date for the job to start. David informed me last week that he had been able to put aside enough to pay Willie, which is a gift to us, seeing as we have a very limited income with funds coming from freelance work—welcome, to be sure, but not regular. He is thorough, cleans up after himself, works efficiently and quickly.
Then, Isaac Chavez is my upholsterer. I love the pride he takes in his work, and his wife, Laura, is also a mistress at their trade. “This is a good piece of furniture,” he will say. “It is well-made.” I bring fabric samples in for him to approve. Isaac does not like to work with shoddy material and advises me on upholstering choices that will save me money.
God, we are told in Sunday School, made the world and all the people in it. When the lawn is mowed between the time I run to the grocery store and return, when the bedroom (including the ceiling) is painted in a morning, when my old, run-down chairs are returned gloriously restored (with some pillows covered in the same fabric thrown in for good measure), I am convinced that something divine is occurring through these people in my life.
I am grateful to them for the superior quality of their ideals. I am grateful for them that their prices for this good work are not so high that I can’t afford them. I am amazed that they keep us in mind and drop past to see if we are ready to have the work done this season. I am filled with high appreciation.
There is goodness in all of this. Though there is monetary exchange in this, I, nevertheless feel loved, comforted, and cared for. That has to be a work of God.
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Award-winning author Karen Mains has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk. She has written about the God Hunt in her book by the same name, The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase and the Wonder of Being Found. A hardback copy can be ordered from Mainstay Ministries for $10.00 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. Contact Karen at info@mainstayministries.org and she will be happy to autograph a copy for you.
Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, “Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains.” In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.
Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags, Africa bags. This micro-finance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.
For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. They are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.