what is God doing?

What do you see God doing in the world today? This is a question that I have repeatedly posed to people who profess to be Christians. Surprisingly, almost no one can give me an answer. Usually the response is a blank stare and and an answer of "uhh.." I am not asking this question to nominal Christians, in fact, most of the people to whom I have asked this question would consider themselves devout, evangelical Christians. Tragically, there seems to be a great disconnect between their understanding of God and the practical reality of His work/activity in the world today.

When I do get an answer, it is usually some generic statement. For instance, a pastor answered the question by saying that God is doing a purifying work today. However, he could give no examples of the practical manifestation of his answer. Might it be that in all our theological intelligence, we have completely missed the real involvement of God in the affairs of people today?

How can we ever participate with God in His redemptive work in the world if we never know what He is actually doing? How can we ever be partners with Him in His restorative, healing, reconciliatory, and redemptive activities if we are clueless to the whereabouts of those activities?

Begin to look for the hand of God. Recently I had a conversation with an older gentleman who has an incredible life story. Most Christians would quickly dismiss him because of the added adjectives in his conversations. (He is an immigrant who knew no English when he came to the USA. I am convinced the first word he learned was the F-word!) As he told some of his life story to me, I began to see how God opened repeatedly open doors for him. I mentioned seeing the hand of God in his circumstances. He replied with a rather lengthy discourse on how God has helped him in numerous ways, miraculous ways for which he can take no personal credit. I am convinced that we will have more God conversations in the future as God continues to draw Gene to Himself.

Where is God in your circumstances, what is He doing? Where is God in the life of your friends, what is His work in their lives? Ministry becomes easy as we discern the actual, practical, and real work of God. When we get on board with what He is doing, the miraculous, transformational power of the Holy Spirit does far beyond anything we could do on our own.

I am convinced we frequently miss the work of God because He operates outside of our expected parameters. Keep your spiritual eyes open. When you see Him at work, jump in alongside Him and participate.