Monday Morning Devotion-February 7, 2022

God Nods

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer.

                                                                                            1 Peter 3:12

*excerpt from the book "Monday Morning Devotions"

      When I moved to North Florida in the early 70's an evangelist by the name of Angel

Martinez (isn't that a great name for a preacher) spoke at our church.  During the course of his sermon, he told a memorable story about a woman who was having difficulty with her prayers.

            She said: "Reverend Martinez, I often wonder if God is listening when I pray because sometimes, I don't feel like my prayers go any higher than the ceiling."

            The wise young preacher replied in a caring tone, "Madam, I'm happy to report that God operates under the ceiling as well."

            The term omnipresent describes God's ability to be everywhere---above and beneath the ceiling.  Consequently, He can answer prayers anytime night or day from anyplace we may happen to be.

            Since He is omnipresent and can be everywhere at all times, He not only hears our prayers but answers them.  Sometimes the answer might be silence because, He knows we are not ready for the answer.  So, in effect, his non-answer becomes an answer. 

            A friend of mine who was involved in a Ladies Bible study class said each week in their prayer time they would discuss any God Nods they had received since their last meeting.  I'm not sure if the idea of God Nods was original with them, but I do think this is a way God communicates with us. 

            Think about it!  Have you ever done something that turned out well---something you were really proud of accomplishing?  Later in thinking about it you remembered, "Something told me I should do that."  You don't know where the inclination came from, but you just felt a little nudge to do it and it worked out well.  That was a God Nod!  It was a move you needed to make, and God just gave you a little nod to say, "do it."  He didn't hit you over the head with it.  It wasn't a dramatic, earth-shaking thing.  It was a little urge, a small voice in your head or a feeling, to go ahead.

            Maybe somebody showed up at just the right time when you needed information or help.   Perhaps you came across a helpful scripture when you were searching for answers.  Maybe you happened onto an informative article or discovered something on the internet that gave you some answers.  It could even be you just turned on the TV at the right time.

            Back in my radio-days a sales manager I worked with who loved children and was single, divorced.  She didn't have any kids in her marriage.  One night, Belinda just happened to tune in to the evening news on NBC.  She probably didn't watch the news every night.  When she did watch the news, she probably didn't see every story on the newscast.  But, this particular night she happened to see a story about all the little baby girls in China who are abandoned and forced into over-crowded orphanages.  Her heart went out to these little orphans and she decided right then that she would try to adopt and raise one of these little girls.

            That began a laborious process of trying to make this happen.  After a lot of agonizing, praying, studying, phone-calling and red tape and paperwork, a year and a half later she was on her way to China (for the first time ever) to meet, fall in love with, and bring back little Emily to the United States.  Now all these years later Emily is doing great.  They are living in Texas, but Emily came back to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University (my alma mater---Go Noles) and has graduated and is entering graduate school.

            Now there's more:  Emily has three sisters.  Belinda, encouraged and supported by her current husband Orbra, has made three additional trips to China, and adopted three more little girls.  They all live happily in the Lone Star State, which now has four new starsÐEmily, Madeline, Charlotte and MaryAudrey.

            The night that Belinda watched that newscast, God looked down on her loneliness and gave her a God Nod, through the story she saw on the orphans.  It dramatically changed her life and the lives of those girls.

            Although it may seem small at the time, a God Nod can lead to big things.  We all have God Nods in our lives.  Often, we just don't recognize them for what they are.  Nothing happens merely by chance.  God knows our needs.  He has a plan for us.  He wants us to succeed.  He wants us to know His will. 

            Sometimes we just aren't alert.  We miss the God Nod.  It might be something very minor that will start us in the right direction.  We might be looking for something big.  We want the whole enchilada.  We want the "be-all, end-all" solution, without having to go through a lot of steps to get there.  So, we may miss the God Nod.

            But as Pat Williams, CEO of the Orlando Magic basketball program says in his book, Go for the Magic, God is a God of Second Chances.  If we miss the first, He gives us another chance.  The idea is that we should try to get more and more in-tune with God, so we don't miss the little nods or the big proclamations.

            When we come to God seeking His wisdom, one of the things that we need to be alert for is anything that could be a God Nod.  Sometimes it might not be the thing we want to see, or hear, or read.  But it is a God Nod nevertheless and it may be sent for guidance, information, education, achievement, change, or whatever God, in His infinite wisdom, chooses to reveal to us.  Just look for those God Nods and be ready to go in the direction God is nodding.

 Prayer: Lord God we want to be alert for the God Nods in our lives.  Help us not to be so wrapped up in looking for a spectacular solution, we miss your God Nod that would start us on the road to over-coming our problem and receiving an even greater blessing.  We ask these things in the name of Jesus.  Amen!