Is God working in our lives? That’s a good question. It is often asked because we fail to see how He has worked in our past. His benevolence is shown to both believers and unbelievers alike.
Let me tell you a story that brings out God’s goodness. Her name was Dorothy, a Christian woman, but she spent an inordinate amount of her time worrying about every thing that might happen to her. It was too windy outside, it was too hot; it was too cold. The price of food was way out of line. Everything was too expensive. Dorothy had saved a considerable amount of money. However, she worried that something might happen to it and she would be left penniless. She was not unattractive, as an older woman, but she had taken upon herself a look of abject worry.
A good friend of Dorothy’s, who was aware of her situation, asked if they might sit together and have a chat. She agreed, and they sat on some lawn chairs outside of her apartment. The friend began by asking if she could ask her some questions; she agreed. “Dorothy,” the friend asked, “Have you ever been without a home or a place to sleep at night?” “No”, “I never have”, replied Dorothy. “Good”, replied the friend, “And have you ever gone without clothing?” The answer was again negative. “Very well”, replied the friend, “Here’s my last question, have you ever gone without sufficient food since you were born?” “I can’t say that I have,” was the reply.
The friend then quoted the Scripture to her “But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) Then it was explained that she had been worrying about the things that had never happened to her. “Dorothy, do you see how God has been supplying your needs all these years? You have been looking forward with fear and uncertainty on all the things that might possibly happen to you, but if you just take the time to look in the rear view mirror of your life, and see how God has really supplied all of your needs then you also can look forward with anticipation that He will continue on the same course.”
How about the rest of us? We may not be able to agree that our lives have been the same as Dorothy’s.
Some of the things that have happened to us may be because of the direction we have chosen to go. When we look in our rear view mirror we likely will see the inevitability of having to face the results of our prior actions. It’s not that God is absent, but rather, He has allowed us to have our free will. He also has a desire for us to learn from our mistakes and to turn to Him. He asks us to come to Him. “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3) Once we grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words that God speaks become so clear that we are amazed that we did not grasp them before. Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual walk.
Dorothy’s problem of apprehension and uncertainty is linked with fear of the future. The scripture says much about fear and what action we need to take in order to deal with it. When Dorothy was shown how God was supplying her necessities through looking back in her rear view mirror, it helped her to look forward with the certainty of God’s presence and provision for the future.
Dorothy was diagnosed with cancer and was given six months to live by Hospice. She outlived that prediction by two years. She has gone on to her future, forever with the Lord.