I had an uncanny experience one morning last week when my dad sent me two separate daily devotionals. They had no relation whatsoever; he just happened to read each of them on the same day. He texted that it was remarkable because these two devotionals were focused on the exact same Bible verse, Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
I responded by saying "What a God wink!" This is a phrase used by some Christians to describe moments when it seems as though God is smacking you in the face with a message through a crazy coincidence like the double devotionals. I’ve also heard people call these instances "God-incidences" or "hand prints" from God.
After reading the two devotionals, I went to pick up where I left off in my daily Bible reading. Right now, I’m reading through the Book of Matthew in the New Testament. My reading for that day was Chapter 7.
About halfway through — in verse 11 to be specific — my jaw completely dropped. Within that passage were the exact words Jesus had spoken in the devotions my dad sent me just moments before, despite being in an entirely different book of the Bible: "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Luke 7:11).
How amazing is God! I was completely awestruck in the moment. I immediately texted by dad and told several friends about it later that day and through the rest of the week. I love these precious moments when God makes something so very clear by speaking through His word.
It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized something — while I had acknowledged God and thanked Him for that sweet moment, I hadn’t actually stopped to meditate on the words Jesus spoke in those two verses or considered how they specifically apply to my life. I guess I was so excited by the “coincidence” that I got distracted from the message. And it got me thinking, when God does speak to me, do I stop and take notes?
That is, do I truly consider what He is trying to say to me? Or do I just marvel at the fact that He’s actually speaking? Both are important. But as Christians we have to learn to stretch ourselves and allow God to instruct us by applying His teachings to our everyday lives. We have to go further than just reading our Bibles.
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