This post has been revised and is part of Frank’s new book, Hang On, Let Go: What to Do When Your Dreams Are Shattered and Life Is Falling Apart.
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Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.
When God Remains Anonymous
Focus on These Parts of Your Life Right Now (Especially if the Sky is Falling)
Going thru one of the hardest times in my life right now. Pray that God will speak to me like this to confirm I’m making right decisions. Thanks for this word and encouragement in Christ.
Another confirmation that our Lord Jesus Christ loves us. This brought tears. Thank you.
For a long time now, this is one of the chief ways God has spoken to me. I’ll take it.
Expecting Him to do the unexpected, to come through in the clutch sometimes makes up for my incompetence, even negligence, but what it really points to for me is how He is involved in the flow of my life, at levels of detail that surprise.
“Counting it all joy” becomes a little clearer as I risk another step forward (sideways or back) where He is in it.
Thankful for this insight. Reminds me of when the Psalmist said “God has spoken once and twice I have heard” (Ps. 62:11). In my own life, God may say something “once” but I will hear it “twice” (multiple) times through various people, places, situations, etc.
Thanks so much!
Awesome. Thanks!
Speaking of coincidences, just this morning over breakfast with a couple of my brother friends, we grappled with how does God speak to his followers these days… then this evening your article dropped into my in-box and added to our conversation!
Thank you for this great article. Your work has a great impact on my life. I guess I am one of the few readers of your book Insurgence from South Korea. Keep up the good work!
Praise God,hallelujah, Amen
Thank you Frank for your hard work bringing to us each week the confirmation of the things already happening. Indeed a true blessing to the rest of His body. Remain blessed, amen Faithful is The LORD JESUS CHRIST, amen
Thanks for the insights! Right on point.
Thank you! I will add these thoughts to Frederick Buechner’s quote, “He speaks not just through the sounds we hear, of course, but through events in all their complexity and variety, through the harmonies and disharmonies and counterpoint of all that happens.”
Frank,
I have often reasoned if He is aware of every hair on our head, and a sparrow isn’t able to fall to ground without His notice then, He can certainly engineer Person A and Person Z encountering each other as a coincidence to bring about His will and glory! Thank you for the article, because you categorized this well as another way in which the Lord ‘speaks to us.’
Thinking back on my catalog too. Wow, what a God. Loved the original book. Love this addendum. Fully concur. And that’s no coincidence.
I call them Godincidences. Great article!
Excellent article! Thank you Frank! This is a very important point, and a great reminder for me to allow God to work in all the ways that He will instead of allowing my anxieties to take over…
Yes, yes and yes! Thank you Frank that was so encouraging. How often these things happen to each of us and we fail to recognize the fingerprints of our Lord. Thanks again.
This was sooooo good!
While I was reading, God reminded me about coincidences in the past. It was quite a refreshing experience.
Thank you Frank!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing they way God has been speaking to you through “coincidences.”
I’ve seen some instances where Christians misinterpret coincidences. Say a person has always wanted a red Ferrari. Then in one week they cross paths with 3 red Ferraris and the last one has a For Sale sign on it. So they take this as a sign from God that they should buy the Ferrari. I’ve even seen some instances where someone took a coincidence as a sign that they should do something that is clearly against scripture.
Can you offer any guidance about corroborating multiple coincidences or coincidences with other ways God speaks?
In terms of corroborating, all the ways I discuss in “Jesus Speaks” which are too numerous to outline here.
God will never lead us in ways that stray from Scripture and the nature of Jesus or the will of God as revealed in the Bible.
None of the Christians I personally know and interact with regularly would fit the description you gave in this comment. I’d recommend that the people you are referring to read “Jesus Speaks” before/after reading this article. It seems that the book is still sorely needed today.
Father is working in the lives of all human beings as they walk through life. Working at getting them to change the way they think. Sometimes just a small mistake is sufficient in their life to get them to change the way they think. Sometimes a huge mistake is required to get them to repent (change the way they perceive the things about God) which is designed to bring them closer to understanding who God is and who they are in Christ. For God to change the way we think is a mammoth task which in some cases takes many years before we come around and sometimes a red Ferrari is a necessity in accomplishing this. Our Father is in no ways limited in how He goes about changing your mind, He will go to the ends of the earth to do just that. Praise His wonderful name! I can certainly praise Father for every circumstance He has orchestrated in my life to get me to understand the truth about Him and to change the way I think, from the carnality of the mind to the mind of Christ. Coincidence has played a large roll in this process.
Thank you Frank for the wonderful work you are doing through the deeper Christian life network. I trust one day Father will reveal to you how your obedience has impacted the lives of so many. You are truly blessed brother. All praise and thanks to Jesus our Lord.
Thank you! This is something the Lord has been speaking to me about lately.
Frank – I love this! And I too love looking for and expecting those “coincidences” that seem to come out of nowhere. And yet in retrospect we can see God orchestrating important details in our lives.