If you are a Christian, you probably desire to see God move and work. As God’s people here on earth, He causes us to desire His kingdom to come here on earth. In one of the most famous prayers in Scripture, often called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs His followers to pray that “God’s kingdom come, God’s will be done – here on earth as it is in heaven.”
Do you know how to recognize God’s gracious hand at work here on earth? If you saw God working, would you notice it? How does God go about doing His work here on earth?
The Bible teaches us how God chooses to work. Much of our Scriptures consist of history books – 22 out of 66 books of the Bible’s focus is to tell the story of God’s working through history. God has chosen how He does His work. He uses real people, real nations, real places, and real times throughout the history of the world – to continually show up.
Do you know that God, in His sovereign power, has raised up kings – even wicked kings – to accomplish His purposes here on earth? I think of Pharaoh enslaving the Israelites – and how God used that period of time to multiply their numbers so that they might become a nation of people ready to conquer the Promised Land. I think of the Persian King Artaxerxes who had favor on Nehemiah, and allowed him to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of God’s city. I think of the Roman Emperor Nero’s persecution of the early church, which caused believers to scatter throughout the known world, thereby bringing God’s good news of grace with them to faraway lands.
Do you have eyes to recognize when God is at work? Are you like Nehemiah, who says “the (earthly) king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me?”
You see, our God is pleased to work in two realms simultaneously. The physical realm is real. The spiritual realm is real. In God’s mysterious way of working, the physical realm and the spiritual realm both affect each other. Let our awareness not stop at what we can see with our physical eyes.
We must always continue to pray that our spiritual eyes would be opened to see what God is doing. See the example of the prophet Elisha who prayed that the spiritual eyes of his companion would be opened. Upon hearing that prayer, God opened the man’s eyes to see armies of angels and chariots all around, joining the physical battle of Israel’s army against their enemies.
When you wake up in the morning and go about your day – when you make sure your family is fed, when you go to your desk at work, when you catch up with a friend, when you spend time with a loved one or with an enemy – you are taking part in God’s method of working here on earth. May your spiritual eyes be opened to see how God is working in the simplicity of your physical life here on earth!
