“See God in everything.”

I came across that idea as young mom striving for perfection and seeking the Lord for direction. A friend had mentioned her daily devotional, Streams in the Desert, sharing how the Lord had used it to enrich her Christian walk. I immediately bought a copy and began reading each day’s selection every morning during my personal Bible study.

Those words “see God in everything” caused me to hesitate. How could anyone see God in everything? See him in all the suffering worldwide? See him in the heartbreak my friends endured? See him in the difficulties assaulting my life?

That was the theme of the September 17 devotional by Hannah Whitall Smith, based on 1 Samuel 3:18. “It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.”

Those words saturated my life and began developing a Christ-perspective.

“See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou dost see. It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom, ‘HE will compass us about with songs of deliverance.’ To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direct dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’

“Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.”

Another friend had recommended a book by Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, that solidified my mindset. “For nearly everything in life comes to us through human instrumentalities, and most of our trials are the result of somebody’s failure, or ignorance, or carelessness, or sin…things in which we can see God’s hand always have a sweetness in them that consoles while it wounds; but the trials inflicted by man are full of nothing but bitterness.

“What is needed, then, is to see God in everything, and to receive everything directly from His hands, with no intervention of second causes…To the children of God, everything comes directly from their Father’s hand, no matter who or what may have been the apparent agents. There are no ‘second causes’ for them…

“Second causes must all be under the control of our Father, and not one of them can touch us except with His knowledge and by His permission.”

Second causes must all be under the control of our Father, and not one of them can touch us except with His knowledge and by His permission (Hannah Whitall Smith). Click To Tweet

“It may be the sin of man that originates the action, and therefore the thing itself cannot be said to be the will of God; but by the time it reaches us it has become God’s will for us, and must be accepted as directly from His hands…

“This way of seeing our Father in everything makes life one long thanksgiving, and gives a rest of heart, and, more than that, a gayety of spirit that is unspeakable.”

Learning to see God in everything has been a process. And just when I think I’ve mastered it, some circumstance knocks me off my feet. Fully focused on the trial, I struggle in my thoughts to find purpose.

The only way to find purpose in difficulty is to believe that before reaching me, this trial passed through the hands of my loving Father, and he plans to use it for a purpose. I don’t have to see his purpose to believe he has a purpose.

The only way to find purpose in difficulty is to believe that before reaching me, this trial passed through the hands of my loving Father, and he plans to use it for a purpose. I don’t have to see his purpose to believe he has a… Click To Tweet

The issue is trust. Do I trust my Father?

I’m learning that when I yield each circumstance to my Father, seeing him in everything, there is indeed a sweetness that consoles.

I have no idea what this day will bring. But I know I can trust my Father.

Please tell me your thoughts. And I’d be grateful if you’d share this with your friends.

© Dianne Barker 2021