It was Sunday afternoon and a preacher sat in his office after, what he thought to be, a well delivered sermon. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in,” he said, expecting it to be his head deacon. Instead, it was a long time member of the church that he had not seen or spoken to in several weeks. “Hey pastor,” the man murmured with a look of uncertainty.
“To what do I owe this visit?” The pastor asked.
“Well pastor… I’ve been struggling,” the man answered.
The preacher could see the doubt in his eyes. He could tell the man was going through a rough patch.
“You see pastor,” the man continued. “I have been struggling to see God lately. It feels like He has forgotten about me or turned His back on me. You have probably noticed that I haven’t been to many services lately. I just feel as if I need time away from God. It appears to me that He wants that too. I just wanted to come to you personally to let you know.”
“I understand,” the preacher stated with compassion. “I think we all go through times like this but I urge you to never stop looking for God. Sometimes we find Him in places we wouldn’t expect and often we tend to overlook His works that are right in front of us.”
“I’ll try,” the man stated with a lack of confidence. “But no promises. I just feel like time away is really what I need.”
“Ok,” the pastor said. “But before you go, can you tell me if you have ever seen a car like this one?” The preacher reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out several pictures of a car. All pictures were of the same car but different colors.
The man, slightly confused, replied “Maybe so. Doesn’t look very familiar but I am sure I have seen one somewhere.”
“Alright,” the preacher said. “Just let me know if you see one. Ok?”
“Ok,” the man agreed, though still confused.
The next day, as the man was leaving for work, he got behind a blue car. A car that looked exactly like the one the preacher had shown him. He ignored it and continued on his way to work. As he pulled into the parking lot at work he noticed another car like the one in the pictures, but this time it was red. He thought little of it and went in to work. After a long day, the man returned to his car. Once again he saw the red car still parked close to his, but shrugged it off. On his drive home he noticed a silver one in a bank drive thru. Then yet another one, this time a white one sitting at a red light. He began to think that the pastor was pulling some kind of joke on him. He tried to brush it off as he turned in to his neighborhood. As he pulled onto his street he saw a fifth one sitting in his neighbor’s driveway. His curiosity had gotten the best of him now so he decided to turn around and pay the pastor another visit.
He arrived at the church and went to the pastor’s office. He knocked and entered before being granted entrance.
“Well, hello!” the pastor exclaimed. “What brings you back?”
“I saw the car.” The man stated. “I saw a blue one on my way to work, but decided to ignore it. But then I saw a red one, then a silver one, then a white one. Then I saw one in my own neighbor’s driveway! I don’t understand how I have seen so many. I haven’t ever truly noticed one until you showed me those pictures. I was hoping you could explain. Is this some kind of joke?”
“No,” the preacher answered with a smile. “There is a simple explanation. You have never noticed the car because you weren’t looking for it. But since I showed you the picture, you started looking for it. We do the same thing with God sometimes. We say that it seems as if He has turned on us, or left us, because we do not see His works in our life. But we are not truly looking. For when we truly look, it is impossible not to see God’s hand at work. Matthew 7:7-8 says ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.’ If you will seek God with all your heart, you will be sure to find Him at work in your life. Sometimes we find God’s hand is at work in unexpected places and other times we are unaware of His work that is right in front of us. You saw these cars all over town. Some perhaps for the first time, but others like your neighbors car have been right in front of you this whole time. God is all around us and sometimes all it takes is a reminder of what He looks like to notice Him. I urge you to stay in God’s house and in God’s word so when God reveals Himself to you, you will know what to look for. God is always at work in us but all too often we overlook Him. Seek Him today and you are bound to find Him”
