"He Was There All The Time"

My wife and I traveled to Florida recently and her goal was to find lots of sharks' teeth. As she sorted through the scoops of sand and small shells, she did find several sharks' teeth and they varied in size. They were all small compared to what I was hoping that she would find but she was excited to have them.

Some time after returning to our home, she was going through some items that she had brought home from a trip to the Outer Banks years ago... several years ago and guess what she found in the collection of shells, the shark's tooth pictured above. When she first found it, she wasn't sure what it was but she wanted to keep it and bring it home. Now that she knows what she is looking for, she has realized that she had a really nice tooth all along... just sitting there waiting to be noticed.

How many people have you ever heard say "I just found God!"? Even though they are very excited about this big change in their life, the fact is that God had been there all along. He wasn't lost. He has not missed a thing in all these years. That person didn't find God, that person just discovered the God of all creation. A discovery that they already had a sense of even though they didn't understand it. Romans 1:19–20 (ESV) — 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Sometimes we are that person even though we have been saved for many years. We have wandered and been distracted until we get to the point that it seems God is missing. We may wonder why He is not with us during a certain situation but if we would just be still and listen for Him, we will find that He was there all the time. Psalm 46:10 (ESV) — 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”