Craig Clouston

 When God Says Hello

What is man that you are mindful of him?

Psalm 8:4

When Chuck found out the church of his childhood was being sold, he and his wife drove up for a visit. Thirty-five years of his absence melted away as they walked the halls of the old building. Chuck had given his life to Christ in this church; his father had entered the ministry here.

Near the end of their visit, they entered the fireside room, noticing a card table in the center of the room. On it were two pictorial directories, two pieces of construction paper, and several old bulletins, all of which sat on an old, heavily bound church ledger. After a cursory inspection of the ledger, Chuck opened the directories to find they held significance; the first was the year his father entered the ministry; the second was the year they had moved away.

Turning his focus to the construction paper, Chuck noticed that on each page were two photographs. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that staring back at him from two of the photos, one on each paper, was ten-year-old Chuckie in VBS class! Now, even if the pastor had known who he was, which he didn’t, he couldn’t have dug up these items before their arrival! This was from God for Chuck. He was saying hello in such a personal way that it was almost audible! Tears filled Chuck’s eyes as he felt God’s embrace.

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Sometimes we get the idea that a God big enough to help us during our greatest needs is too busy to be watching us with affection. Or even more astonishingly, that He would spend time sorting through our memories to prove it!

God wants us to understand that it doesn’t dim the lights of heaven when He acts on our behalf. Nor does it remove His focus from others when He bends low enough that we feel His breath on our face. He is Almighty God, the God of all Creation who had each of us in mind before the foundations of time!

Prayer

“Papa, I am in awe to know how much You care for me. Thank You for being a personal God, able to bend down to my level when I need You. May I always sense Your affection. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”