“I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. (Amos 4:6)

Now that I’m older and I can look back at my life as a child, teen, and young adult, I see in hindsight the many times that God was reaching out to me, even before I became Christian. There are very distinct moments and circumstances that occurred that were too well orchestrated and specific to be accidents or coincidences, and I now see that God was trying to both warn me and draw me to Him.

The foolish and/or dangerous situations that I repeatedly put myself or others into, I have only survived by the grace of God, as He still has plans for me to accomplish in this world as an instrument for Christ.

In Amos 4 verses 6-11, we see the numerous warnings that the Lord gave to Israel, in hopes that they would heed His call and return back to Him from their lives of sin. He allowed everything from hunger to famine to drought to plagues and more, and yet Israel still did not shift their focus or dependency from themselves or their idols, onto Him.

God wanted to save them from the judgment and penalty of their sin, yet they would not listen. Finally, their stubbornness yields the final, chilling statement, “Israel, prepare to meet your God.” (v12b)

Take a look at your life and everything going on in it. Through every good and bad thing that happens in life, you can find God’s presence if you truly seek Him. The question is, do you actually acknowledge that God may be speaking to you or trying to warn you or teach you something or draw you near to Him, or do you just chalk every situation up to happenstance?

Whatever it is that you’re going through today, you can choose to either seek God through it, or you can rely solely on yourself (or maybe others) with mixed results. I’ve seen too many friends and family go through too many heartaches and hardships, and they fail to see that God is passionately calling to them in their situation in hopes that they will find Him and turn to Him… just as He did with Israel.

Seek God in every part of your life and with all your heart, and you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). Don’t make the mistake of thinking that everything in life is a coincidence or the result of good or bad luck, as God assigns purpose to everything.

Look out for His advanced warnings and don’t take them for granted, as He is trying to steer you away from sin and death, and steer you to hope and eternal life in Jesus!

[From February 11, 2019]