Hearing from God in Everyday Living
We’re passionate about learning to hear from God in everyday life.
Since you probably do some everyday living, too, it’s no accident you landed on this site. You’re here for a reason. Check out our website and join our community. The reason you’re here might be one click away!
The Invitation: Happy Thanksgiving! A day set apart for gratitude and thankfulness. It may be more challenging than normal with all the covid questions and restraints this year. But in the midst of difficulty and disappointment, we can always find something to be glad about. Pollyanna modeled it well.
“I was growlin’ one day ’cause I was so bent up and crooked; an’what do ye s’pose the little thing said? … She said I could be glad, anyhow, that I didn’t have ter stoop so far ter do my weedin’ – ’cause I was already bent part way over. ‘” —spoken about Pollyanna*
Pollyanna was an orphan who lived with a stern and bitter aunt. Finding something to be glad about in the midst of difficult circumstances was a game Pollyanna played and invited others to give it a try. As they joined in, their lives were transformed for the better. Relationships were healed, joy restored and thankfulness grew in places where hope had been lost.
Who wouldn’t want that? In my opinion, Pollyanna has gotten a bad rap. People use her name in a negative sense, “I don’t want to be all Pollyanna about it,” implying that she was unrealistic in her view of life. But the truth is, she simply chose over and over again to look for things to be glad about.
Are you willing to play her game and find things to be glad about today? Who knows, it may be the most blessed Thanksgiving you’ve ever had.
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
–Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
Your Response: Lord, in the midst of all the difficulties in the world, I pause and give You thanks for Your goodness and how You are at work to bring healing and restoration. I recognize this is the day You have made, and I choose to rejoice and be glad in it.
Lord, show me three things I can be glad about.
1.
2.
3.
Lord, how can I encourage and influence others today?
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
–1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV)
*Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter
The Invitation: Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving have a new partner this year: Zoomgiving. Or should it be Thankszooming? Whatever you choose to call it, many of us may be doing things a bit differently.
Actually, every Thanksgiving seems to have a happening that is a bit out of the ordinary. And none of my Thanksgiving memories have ever included a dinner like those Norman Rockwell paintings on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post—a magazine that came to my home as a child.
There’s usually been a few things (or people—even me) that go awry, last minute changes in plans, and even a year when no one remembered the stuffing (if you can imagine!). But we’ve always been able to gather without a second thought, and the challenging moments of our gatherings are real life.
This year has been a tough one for everyone, and whether you’ll be with family in person or part of a Zoomgiving, why not ask the Holy Spirit for ways to add laughter to your Thanksgiving gathering? Joy is part of normal Christian living, so take some time and prepare to celebrate all that is good.
A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
—Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)
Just to get your creativity started, I asked the Holy Spirit for ideas for our Thanksgiving celebration. A few things came to mind that will work for a Zoomgiving or in person:
• • Ask everyone to make a turkey hat using a baseball cap and supplies they have on hand. Then wear the hats on your Zoom call or at the table. Prizes? Demonstrating how your turkey gobbles? Singing “gobble, gobble” to the tune of Happy Birthday? Be creative.
• • “For Thanksgiving dinner, I brought ___________________.” Each person fills in the blank. Sweet potatoes? Pumpkin pie? And don’t be surprised if the 9 year-olds say turkey pizza or a dinosaur. The second person repeats what the first person said and adds their own item, etc. How many times can your group go around the table or the Zoom group before confusion sets in?
• • For a twist on what we’re thankful for, try categories such as:
—Thanksgiving food I’m most thankful for
—Something that begins with the first letter of my first name
—One good thing that has come out of the quarantine
—Something I appreciate about my family
If you’ve been part of our online community, you might remember our Recipe for a Great Thanksgiving Dinner. It prepares our hearts to love our Thanksgiving group with the love of Christ. Check it out here.
Now it’s your turn. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit for insight on how to put a little Zoomph! into our celebrations.*
Your Response: Lord, as I consider the colors of the fall leaves and sunsets, Your creativity astounds me. Through the Holy Spirit, thank you that this creativity is available to me. Thank you, too, for the people I’ll be with this Thanksgiving.
Right now I ask you to search my heart, that I might hand You any stress or disappointment I feel. (Pause and let the Holy Spirit reveal anything you are not meant to carry.) What do You give me in exchange?
Lord, I want to be an instigator of joy and thankfulness. You know the make-up of my Thanksgiving group. What are a couple of ways I can add laughter and love this year? (Pause and listen. Ask for clarification if you need it.)
Thank you, Lord, for blessing my gathering. Right now I pray a special blessing over the Zoomgivings this season. May the Zoomers’ hearts connect in supernatural ways, and may they know they are loved—by their friends and family and by You.
* If by any chance you heard the Holy Spirit say, “Share a turkey joke,” we’re here to help! (You’ll find more jokes on the Recipe link above.)
• Q: Do you know what happened when the turkey lost a fight?
• A: He got the stuffing knocked out of him!
• Q: Can a turkey jump higher than the Space Needle?
• A: Of course! The Space Needle can’t jump.
• Q: What happened when the turkey played football?
• A: It got penalized for fowl play!
• Q: Where do you find a turkey with no legs?
• A: Exactly where you left it!
The Invitation: How often do I rejoice when I run into problems and trials? I can assure you, not often. But what if I chose to look at them differently, to see problems and trials as opportunities to develop endurance? For when I endure, my character is strengthened. And as my character is strengthened, hope rises up to give me confidence that God is at work for good.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials,
for we know that they help us develop endurance.
And endurance develops strength of character,
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment.
For we know how dearly God loves us,
because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
–Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)
Am I willing to give up comfort for character? Am I willing to endure? This can be challenging! Yet, in the shortsighted desire to stay comfortable, I often miss out on what is truly valuable.
Endurance in sports is developed by continuing on when things get uncomfortable. Not only continuing on, but pressing in and pushing past what feels good at the time. As an athlete trains his/her body, we train our spirits to persevere in the midst of adversity. The reward is strengthening of both our character and our confidence in God’s salvation—His saving, healing, delivering work on our behalf.
Let’s take God up on His challenge and invitation to rejoice when we face difficulties. He promises that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with His love as we endure, and our character will be strengthened. For our God is working for good now and always.
Your Response: Lord, often I grumble when I run into problems and trials. But instead, what if I chose to rejoice, believing that You are at work building character in me (or someone I love) that will produce confident hope? So Holy Spirit, I ask for You to search my heart and point out any place where I have grown discouraged.
How are You at work in this place?
How do I cooperate with You?
Holy Spirit, as I take a few minutes to rejoice, thank you for filling me with more of God’s love.
The Invitation: It’s written on the penny and on the $100 bill—on all our spending money—In God We Trust. As we hand a clerk a $20 bill for a few groceries, it’s as if we’re saying, “It’s by the grace of God I have food for today.”
Yet as we wait for voters to determine who will run our government, are we trusting God or man? It seems we forget that God used Pharaoh, an evil king, to give His people what they needed to survive in the desert until they reached the Promised Land.
It slips our mind that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
—Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
Let’s ask God what it looks like to trust Him for the future of our country. And then let’s pray for our nation and the men and women who will be our leaders.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Our Response: Lord, I choose to trust You rather than trust in the results of the election. I will not depend on my own understanding—on how things look. Today I seek Your will. Show me how to pray.
Father, You are my protector and provider. I pray for all people to know of Your goodness and to know Jesus.
Lord, there are people literally dying to get a chance to live in the United States. But sometimes the news keeps me focused on all the things that are wrong or out of alignment here. Today I want to thank you for the good things about our country. (Ask Him to put things on your heart and pray them with thankfulness.)
I pray for every political leader—those who win and those who lose—to have humble and pure hearts and to turn to You for help. Lord, how can I join You in praying for elected officials? (Listen and pray what you hear.)
Thank you, Lord, that in the midst of uncertainty, I can live a peaceful life marked by dignity. Right now I hand You any wrong thinking that might get in the way of this. (Take a minute and let God search your mind and heart. Then ask Him to take away anxiety, fear, or lies.)
Lord, show me what You have for me as I choose to trust in You. (Listen.) Lord, may my words and actions demonstrate that it is in God I trust.
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people.
Ask God to help them;
intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority
so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives
marked by godliness and dignity.
This is good and pleases God our Savior,
who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
—1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT)