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 everyday occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
While driving up to Midland, I noticed my gas tank was nearly 3/4 empty. I made a mental note to get out of the city traffic before rush hour and then to stop at Bridgeman, Michigan, for fuel. Bridgeman is exactly two hours away from our home in West Chicago. We always stop here at McDonald’s for coffee, to change drivers and for restroom pauses as we take our annual trek up through Detroit, across the U.S./Canada Bridge on our way to the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Bridgeman means we only have six more hours to go.
After grabbing a cup of coffee, I inquired about a gas station. “Under the highway, to the left,” replied the girl at the McDonald’s counter. “It’s a BP station.”
When I found the station and got out of the car, I discovered the weather had turned frigid—one of those sudden temperature drops. Hastily, I lifted the latch for the gas tank and unscrewed the cap. But I had left my glasses with the MapQuest directions on the passenger seat (along with the spilling contents of my opened purse and whatever what not’s were also inhabiting that space), so when I went to work the pump, I couldn’t read the instructions. “Card here.” “Press”—what? I tried to swipe that card three times and kept getting a message that my attempt was “illegitimate.” In addition, I was freezing, the wind was blowing up and it felt like there was rain in the evening air.
I would have driven away, but I wasn’t sure where the next gas station might be. Suddenly, the Indian gentleman who had been sitting inside the BP convenience store was at my elbow. “Let me help,” he said. He took my card, swiped it, and lo and behold, everything proceeded as normal.
“Thank you for coming out in the cold to help me,” I said. He nodded kindly, than hastened back inside into the warmth.
When I looked at the button he had pressed, I could now see that it read ENTER. Of course. Come on, how much time would it have actually taken to hop back in the car, rummage in the front-seat mess and find those glasses?
I was aware of the thought that there are people who will actually brave the chill to help someone else who is stuck out in the cold. Not everyone, of course. There are those horrific stories of people ignoring the pleas of someone stranded or sick or helpless. Recently, the news carried the item about a man who left his front door to get the paper, had a heart attack and died on his own front lawn. When the newspaper boy (or was it a mailman?) was questioned as to why he hadn’t gone for aid, he replied that he had seen the inert body but thought it was a leftover prop from the recent Halloween.
Most of the time, we read of heroes who plunge into frozen rivers to rescue someone whose car has slipped through a guardrail. We read of children who make emergency 9-1-1 calls and save a sibling’s life. I am convinced that the world is full of helping hands. More often than not, they are all about us, because God is everywhere, and He is the one who nudges the goodness in each of us toward the forefront, whispering, Why don’t you help that person in need? There are more people than we can possibly know who will help someone stuck in the cold.
I spy 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.
