Recently, as I spent time with my grandsons, who are two and four, we worked our way through a few I Spy books. “I spy with my little eye…” What? Of course, it was great fun to find the tiny red truck amongst all the other red objects on a page. It took a little work, but we always managed to find what we were looking for. Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder if that is the very reason some of us never quite see God’s hand at work in our lives. We look, but we don’t see. We search, but we don’t find. It seems to me that God has given us the perfect I Spy world to try to discover He’s there. Even more than that, He rarely hides out, except in plain sight. So why do we miss Him?
In the I Spy series, we might be told what to look for, or at least be given hints of what could be on the page. So, when it comes to spying on God to see what He might be up to in our lives, what do we look for? How do we find Him? Of course, there are a multitude of answers, but we could start with some very basic ones. Some of those basics might remind us of Job when God inquires whether Job knows how God created the world, or how God knew what every living creature would need to survive, or how God made the very ground we all walk on. God asked Job, “We’re you there, when I did all these things?” Of course, Job’s answer and ours is the same. “No!” Perhaps God was trying to say, you can see me anyplace you look, at least if you really want to find me.
It appears that we live in a world that has stopped looking. We are comfortable with our own intellect, our own genius at figuring things out, and so then we assume, we somehow have all the answers. For me, I might buy that theory when things are going well, but when everything is crazy, I want somewhere else to turn. I want to know that I can seek God’s face in the darkness and hold tight to His spirit when everything else knocks me off my feet.
When you’re looking for God, the game of I Spy is easy. You can see Him in the faces of people who radiate His goodness and feel His presence in the power of prayer. You can trust His faithfulness when things fall down around you and witness His favor on those who need His courage and strength. The other day, I had a perfect I Spy moment when I literally saw an outline of the face of Jesus as clear as crystal in a cloud. For just a moment, I could see every detail. When it disappeared, I was left with the very real feeling that God sees me too. After all, I suspect He plays I Spy all the time, looking for those things we do to shine His light. Keep looking! You’re sure to see His hand at work all around you.