The Focus

Where have you seen God?

If you grew up in a church or Christian environment similar to mine, you probably heard this question quite often—in church, during Sunday school, on a retreat, at the end of a mission trip—the list goes on. Generally, we ask this question in order to invite each other to reflect upon the presence of God in our lives. It helps us to look back and see how God worked through the people we encountered, the situations we were in, and the things we did. It can also help us to share those stories of God’s presence with others, helping them to better recognize the presence of God in their own lives. A lot of good can come from this simple question of “where have you seen God,” but for some reason this question always bothered me.

Maybe it was how the question was asked, or maybe it was a result of the conversation that usually followed, but whenever a church leader would ask that question, I would cringe a little. Oftentimes “where have you seen God” was asked with an expectation of hearing amazing stories of God’s presence. People would then seemingly try to one up each other with incredible stories of the ways they saw God. All the while I would be sitting there thinking about how boring my experiences had been in comparison. Other times the question would be asked and the room would be silent. It would be like pulling teeth to try to get someone in the room to share a story of the presence of God. Sometimes it would almost seem like God had simply stepped away for a while since nobody was able to see God.

Often I think the question “where have you seen God” misses the point. God is present everywhere and in every situation. Theologically speaking, we describe this as the omnipresent nature of God—God being present everywhere at all times. Yes, God is present in the miraculous and amazing. We hear stories of times when a disease was miraculously cured, or when a huge sum of money came in just the right moment to support a ministry endeavor. We see God in these situations because these are the times when God is easiest to see. We can easily see and understand the good that is happening and connect it with the goodness and love of God. We also readily see God in the less amazing, but still good, situations. Situations like serving someone a meal who hasn’t eaten in days, or playing with children who have been abandoned by their parents. But God isn’t only present in the “good” we see or the “good” we do.

God is also present during difficult times. God is present when we get a new job and when we lose a job. God is present when a baby is born and when a loved one passes away. God is present when the hungry get to eat and when they have to go another night without food. Omnipresent means everywhere, all of the time. When we open our eyes to see God during our darkest times, we begin to depend more fully upon God. We “let God into” our hurts and our pains—the struggles of our hearts that we so often hide from those around us. We lean on God for support and recognize the amazing truth of God’s all encompassing love. But God isn’t only present in the “good” and bad” of our lives.

Never once did I hear anyone answer the question “where have you seen God” with “while brushing my teeth.” We just don’t often think of the presence of God in situations as simple and mundane as brushing our teeth. God is present in the “good” and the “bad” and everything in between. That means God is present when we brush our teeth, or as we wash the dishes, or while we are walking to the mailbox. God is there. I believe that as we grow as Christians, we are first able to recognize the presence of God in our best and worst times. It takes a lot more intentionality to recognize God in our own mundane routines.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Many of us would agree with that statement, yet we fill our lives with countless small “destinations.” We do the dishes to get to the destination of having clean dishes. We water plants to get to the destination of having nice flowers, or fresh fruit and vegetables. We work long hours to get to the destination of a new house or car or (fill in the blank). What would happen if we started looking at our routines as time spent growing with God instead of a way to reach our destinations? There is nothing wrong with having clean dishes or buying a house, but how much time do we miss along the way when we are solely focused on the end goal? 

God is present everywhere, all of the time. 
In our highs.
In our lows.
But also in everything in between.
All we have to do is open our eyes.