Collaborative

As We Think One Thing And God Another

by Terry Barlow
09/29/14
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   The other day, in the transition between one town and another, I lost track of the shade-visor that clips onto my glasses. I had several places in mind to look over the next few days, and when I exhausted them all without result, I think might have murmured a prayer, knowing that God knew exactly where it was. Soon after the thought came to mind to go and look in a certain part of the car.  As I opened the car door I thought to look again behind the cup holder under the CD player, even though I had already looked there once. Sure enough there it was pushed toward the back of the little tray located there.

  If the Holy Spirit had prompted me to go look in the tray, I would have resisted, knowing I had already looked there. Instead I believe the Holy Spirit prompted me to go to the car with the intention of looking in a place in the car where I hadn’t yet looked, and then once I arrived at the car diverted my thought again to the tray up front. In the end I never did look in the other part of the car and, of course, never needed to.

  There are countless examples in our lives of this kind of thing. I recognize that God often works in this manner with us. We think we are pursuing one intention, and all the while God has another intention in mind and is allowing us our own illusion, until getting us into a position where He can answer our prayer and show Himself faithful once again. God, though unlimited, must sometimes go about divine purposes indirectly, because of working through OUR limitations or limited viewpoints and store of information.