Mark 9:2-10 “ Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And in their presence he was transfigured; his clothes became dazzling white—whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. And Elijah with Moses appeared, conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were so frightened. Then a cloud cast a shadow over them, and a voice came out of the cloud: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Therefore, they kept the matter to themselves, although they did argue about what rising from the dead could possibly mean.” This episode talks about how God is there for us in a lot of small ways that we don't recognize. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
God Is There In The Small Ways Too!
Mark 9:2-10 “ Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And in their presence he was transfigured; his clothes became dazzling white—whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. And Elijah with Moses appeared, conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were so frightened. Then a cloud cast a shadow over them, and a voice came out of the cloud: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Therefore, they kept the matter to themselves, although they did argue about what rising from the dead could possibly mean.”
God knows what we are going to need, even if we don’t. God knew that it was going to be difficult for the disciples to watch Him be crucified. He knew that they were not going to understand what was happening. He tried to explain what was to come but they never truly understood what He was saying. It was too much to wrap their minds around. Jesus knew this and so He took Peter, James, & John up a high mountain and let them witness the transfiguration. Not only did they get to witness the transfiguration but they got to hear the Lord’s voice tell them that Jesus was His son. This was meant to fortify their faith so they could withstand the upcoming trials.
God does the same for us. Have you ever noticed that God sends things into your life at the perfect time to help you get through a difficult situation. Have you ever had a friend call up and invite you to coffee right when you really need to talk, or you really needed to know that someone cared about you? Have you ever had the sermon at mass say exactly what you needed to hear that day, or listen to a podcast and feel like there person speaking is talking to you personally? These are not accidents, or coincidences. God is giving you what you need to make it through the hard time that you are in. He is giving you enough strength to make it through at least that day.
I will never forget one day when I lived in England and I was having a truly terrible day. I was feeling so defeated and so lonely. I saw my neighbor on her way into her house. She stopped and gave me a hug and I still to this day remember exactly how that hug felt. It was just a hug and yet it was exactly what I needed in that moment. It helped me feel loved. It helped me know that I was not alone. I can think of many times when this had happened for me. I remember another time when I was looking for a Life in the Spirit seminar. I knew I needed more in my spiritual life. Then one day a friend called and she said she saw a sign for the seminar at a different local church. I did not know when I started that seminar that I was about to go through one of the hardest times in my life. I needed that community, I needed that added boost of faith, I needed that strength. I had no idea I was going to need it at the time. But God did. He always knows what we need.
Sometimes I think we can get frustrated when we think God is not showing up for us in the way we expect Him to. We are expecting some grand gesture of His love for us and He is sending us a series of small gestures. I get it. It would be so much easier to know God was with us if He was doing miracles in our life every day. If we had a loved one and He instantly cured them, we would know God loved us and was there for us. If we really needed money and God sent us a check in the mail for the exact amount, we would have no doubts that God heard our prayers and answered them. But what about when He is not doing that? What about when we have that bill to pay and we don’t get a check from God in the mail?
Sometimes we can’t see God in our lives because we are not looking in the right places. There are so many ways that I have seen God show up for people. I have heard about ways He has shown up in big ways. For instance, one time my parents were praying and asking if they should get involved in a business venture. They did not have the start up money that they needed. I think it was $300. They left it up to God. If He wanted them to do it, He would have to provide the money. Otherwise, they would assume it was not the right time for them. That week they received a check from my grandpa that was for the exact amount they needed. They did not ask him for the money and they did not tell him about the business opportunity. When they asked him what the extra money was for he told them he didn’t know, he just felt like he was supposed to write the check for that amount. God does move in big ways sometimes.
However, I have heard just as many stories of times when He has shown up in small ways. I had a friend who was talking to God one time and she was saying that she knew she was loved by God, but sometimes she just needed to feel it a little more. Two minutes later, while she was still talking with God a neighbor showed up with a poinsettia for her. And you know what, she didn’t see it as an answer to her prayers. She had just asked for God to show her His love in a way that she could feel it and then when He did, she didn’t recognize it. She is not alone. I think this happens to all of us all the time. I think we are so focused on wanting God to show us He is with us and perform all these big miracles, that we miss the small ones that He does everyday.
What if we started looking for God in every part of our day? What if we tried to see God in everything that happened to us throughout the day? I wonder how much different our days would be. I wonder how much more our faith would grow. Imagine for a minute that you attributed everything good in your day to God. Imagine a day when you thanked Him for all the things that happened throughout your day. Do you think you would feel any different? How do you think it would affect your mood, what about your outlook on the day? If you looked at every small thing that happed throughout you day through the lens of “God orchestrated this just for me” I wonder how different your day would be.
Imagine, instead of just rushing through a green light without any thoughts, you could think to yourself, thank you God for that green light. When I go through green lights I thank God for them, as it is possible you could have hit every red light. So when I go through a green light I think of it as a hello from God. This may sound silly, but I can feel the difference in the days when I do this and the days when I forget. Also, parking spots, this is again a small thing, but when I find a parking spot I thank God for it as I have been to lots where all the spots are full. If you can learn to see God in the small things you will go through your days so much happier. If you don’t believe me, just give it a try. Why not try it today? Set your intention right now as you are listening to this that you are going to look for God in the small things today. Anything that goes right, or makes you happy, no matter how small it may seem, stop for a second and thank God for it. He is there for us in the small things, we just have to notice Him!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we are so very thankful that you are there for us in the big ways and in the small ways. Lord, we ask that you open our eyes so that we can see all the ways that you are there for us providing us with whatever it is we need. You are awesome. There are so many of us and yet you know each one of us personally and you fulfill our needs each and every day. It must be exhausting. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.