It’s not natural for us to count on GOD in everyday, mundane circumstances—matters that seem to be below Him and not worth bothering over. Not long after finding the diamond, (read this first: The Lost Diamond), we had lost the remote control for the TV, (again), and I looked and looked everywhere, feeling along all seams of the couches. I searched the room thoroughly for about twenty minutes.
Only then did I ask God about it, and He showed me, (after another twenty minutes) not one, not two, but three remotes within the bowels of our couch. Apparently a cavity opens up within the couch when the recliner leg pads are extended outward, and over the years the original TV remote control, (and two universal replacement remotes), had been swallowed by this Bermuda Triangle compartment, and held captive—despite a couple of re-locations.
I told my family how God had led me to the remotes, and how I searched for Him, and how he set the remotes free from their captivity. We all had a good laugh. It is all too easy to explain away the move of God, however, especially in practical situations where a little more diligence, a little more wisdom, a little more skill is applied, and lo, the desired result is achieved. Nevermind, God! I found it!
Two days later, God provided another living demonstration for us. My son, Nick, had gotten a toy plastic Nerf gun, complete with sponge darts. The “weapon” was capable of rapid firing a number of rounds in three seconds. Anyway, he was having fun shooting these off in the house, but then he lost one of his darts.
He looked all over the area for it, and I started to join in the search. After looking around a bit, I told Nick that he should ask the Lord to show him where it is. I reminded him about finding the diamond, and finding the remote controls a few days before. He laughed at me, and said something to the effect that it wasn’t that big a deal and that God wouldn’t do that, anyway.
I turned my head in the next instant and saw the dart across the breakfast nook nestled into a shoe along the baseboards. “Look, the dart is right over there in that shoe.” Nick was happy to have the dart back, but didn’t really believe that the finding of it was helped by the Lord. Nobody likes to admit being wrong, and there is always a secular explanation to these kinds of minor miracles, but I reserve the pleasure of seeing the Hand of God all about me, even if others would explain Him away.
Maybe you’ve asked God, and your diamond is still lost, and maybe your TV remotes keep disappearing forever, and perhaps even your Nerf dart is completely invisible to you, but one question burns to be answered as your life flows and ebbs: have you sought the Lord more diligently than all the “important” items or successes that seem beyond your sight and reach?
Have you invited Him into the commonplace crannies of your daily life? Or has your search for these things, and your frustration with God over losing or not getting them, actually turned your heart in other directions, away from the God Who Sees You? Perhaps you could undertake to search for Him in your life, and consider that He may not appear or act the way you think He should? Like the diamond in the parking lot, He is the stone of greatest importance, invisible to the myriad casual passersby, but uniquely accessible and valuable to the one who looks diligently for Him.
Your lost diamond may stay lost, but make sure you find HIM.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. NIV 1984.