God Reveals Just Enough

On July 28, I wrote about experiencing a deep sense of peace and contentment as I recognized God’s work in and through my life. What I did not realize then was that this experience was preparing me for what He would unfold over the next two weeks. More and more, I’m learning that what we live today is often God’s preparation for tomorrow.

Over the past two weeks, I had the privilege of meeting with more than thirty couples and individuals serving as cross-cultural workers in countries and contexts all around the world. My role was simple—listen, encourage, and, where needed, offer guidance. But as the conversations unfolded, something began to happen that I had not anticipated.

During meetings, between meetings, even in casual conversations, threads of people’s stories began to intersect with my own. Some had connections to my home state, others to my city, even to the church I attend or people I know. More than once, I unexpectedly found myself face-to-face with people I had counseled before—some recently, some many years ago.

One moment especially stood out: a conversation that began as a simple introduction turned into the discovery of multiple shared connections—friends, places, and even ministry experiences that overlapped in ways only God could weave together. These were not random encounters. They were glimpses of God orchestrating lives, past and present, in His time and in His way.

By the end of those two weeks, I was deeply encouraged. But I also realized how overwhelming it was to see so much of God’s work compressed into such a brief span of time. It was a bit overwhelming.

As I reflected on this, I remembered something I had written in my July 28 post: Dan Stone’s idea of “living above the line” from The Rest of the Gospel. That posture of living moment to moment, attentive to God’s presence, was what I had been pondering. Now through this most recent experience, I understand a different perspective, through Jon Bloom’s Things Not Seen. In one chapter, he reminds us that God’s mercy is often revealed in what He does not show us.

What a rich blessing it was to be present with so many, to experience the connections, the re-connections, confirmations, and opportunities to share and encourage others, and to see God’s hand in all of this, one conversation at a time.

What I came away with was not just an amazing collection of encouraging connections and conversations, but a deeper awareness of God’s presence in all of our lives. A reminder that He has been weaving together the moments we experience today, since before we were born, all the past and present, people and places, ministry and memories—in His time, in His way.

And understanding His mercy is that He reveals just enough—enough to strengthen, enough to encourage, enough to remind us that He is here and He is at work. His mercy is not only in what He shows us, but in what He withholds.

Bloom, Jon. “Things Not Seen.”