Often God speaks through synchronistic events. What is synchronicity? I'll define it as two or more "random" events that happen in close sequence and produce a tangible meaning. The Lord is outside of time, and often brings events together in the same moment in order to tell us something. These "coincidences" happen for a reason, in order to direct our thoughts or actions towards our God. In this post, I'll discuss two areas where synchronistic events can help us.
Synchronicity as a Personal Sign
"The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength." Isaiah 58:11
As we walk in God's will, He places events onto our path so that we can know and stay in the truth. Sometimes He provides so many confirmations that it gets overwhelming. Being wrapped up in God's faithful care is a good problem to have! God often moves these things into place just after they've been on our mind. How often have you been thinking and praying about something, only for God to answer with a series of uncanny events just after? These events are not random, nor just coincidence. They are the act of an all-powerful God who is Lord of both big things and small. They are navigational commands designed for us personally, by the One who created us. God cares about all aspects of us, no matter how insignificant they may seem to others.
In the Word we are instructed to not worry about "...what you will eat or drink". Instead of worrying, we ought to seek God! The command to "not worry" implies that God has a better way. The antidote for worry is trust and insight. Personally, God has instructed me through big things and small. I say this not to brag, but to show the intimacy and Love of God. He gives us clear instructions to erase our worldly burdens, not add to them. He's given me clear direction in so many areas, including the following:
-How to pray
-When to talk, and when not to
-How long I should sleep
-What to eat
-When to say, "yes" to an opportunity, and when not to. For example, what Church to attend
...And many more. And these navigational commands are usually synchronistic. For example, if I've been asking God about prayer, He'll direct me to the Lord's prayer in scripture, I'll talk to a member of Church group about the connection between faith and prayer, and I'll get a devotional email about the importance of prayer in a believer's life. If God's been speaking to me about the importance of worshiping through music, I'll hear my favorite Godly song, then get on Facebook and see an athletic add called, "Singing all the way to Victory". Prophetic Words are very often confirmed by future synchronistic events. I've taken to calling these events confirmations or signs, because they confirm God's Word or His promptings.
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you the sign..." Isaiah 7:14
Synchronicity Through Others
When in community with other believers, God aligns hearts and minds to bring up similar topics. He uses synchronicity to uplift the body of believers. He brings the thoughts of many together to highlight a particular message. The early Christians worshiped God with "...one mind together..." They shared all these things, even their simple gratitude for food, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just the same today if we can stay in step with what God's doing.
I'll give an example of this, too. This kind of synchronicity usually involves bringing the same thoughts to remembrance, amid different individuals, at the same time. These thoughts can be spiritual or mundane, but their repetition is often by God's design. Today I was thinking about the humbling experiences the Lord has brought me through. He's taught me meekness and humility in ways that haven't always been pleasant. For one, I realized that for my whole life, I've had a strong dislike for people reading things I write. I've enjoyed writing, but the thought of others reading it used to leave me embarrassed and uneasy. I have not had much interest in getting attention for the things I write.
So I realized God has allowed this, so that my motives now, with this blog, can stay pure. After all, I can't afford to write this blog for myself. I want to please God with this, and I don't want my rewards to be burnt up. So I can see that God intended for me to have this attitude towards public writing, so that I wouldn't become prideful through it in the future. Anyways, I was thinking about this while doing some yardwork today..and pondered the pride that some Christians develop through their use by God. Afterwards, I was talking with my wife and she said that she was thinking about my humility yesterday morning. She knew that God had done the internal work for this, and recognized the harm that pride would do to our relationships with God and with each other.
I've seen more impressive synchronistic events happen via aligned thoughts, but this instance is one of the more recent ones I could think of. More on synchronicity to come in future posts.
"...then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one of mind." Phillippians 2:2
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