Have You Seen God Wink?

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

Matthew 28:20b

… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Have you ever heard the term “God Winks”? I must confess that I had not heard this term till in recent years. A nurse friend of mine, from South Carolina, gave me a book called “When God Winks”, as a going away gift. There are now several other books written about God Winks and Hallmark has even made a series of movies about them. My book describes them as little coincidences that point back to God’s movement in our life. I have been privy to many of these “little coincidences” over my lifetime but most of the time I don’t notice or see them till long after they have taken place. I have never believed in coincidences but I do believe in God and his interaction in our daily lives. So, when we call them “God Winks”, we are acknowledging God’s movement in our daily lives.

We have been in North Carolina now, since June of 2014. This is our third time living here. We spent almost a year looking for a place to call our own and having built one house earlier in our marriage, I really wanted to build another, plus we couldn’t find one already built, to buy. With my husband being in the timber industry, he was constantly looking for us a small piece of land. He was introduced to someone who is now our neighbor. Friends of ours knew this person had some land that was not farmable and was separated from his other property. When asked if he would consider selling, he told us, after a few days, yes. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship but that is not all of the story. As time went on and we got to know each other, we were eventually told how our neighbor came to own the land. The land was up for auction and was supposed to have been bought, by agreement, by two people and one person backed out at the last minute. This left the other one either having to take it all or lose the half he wanted. By God’s providence, he took it all. He carried hard feelings against the other person. One day, it dawned on me that if he hadn’t bought the land, we wouldn't live where we do. He wouldn’t have us as neighbors and I told him that, jokingly. He confessed, he had never thought of it that way. It was a God Wink, years in the making. It gives me goose bumps when I think about how this all came together. That in and of its self is a story for another day. I can’t tell you how many times these God Winks have occurred at church. When a Sunday school lesson, a hymn of worship, a children’s sermon, and then the Pastor’s message all point to the same topic or point, that is a God Wink. If we aren’t there to participate, then we don’t see them. I’m telling you it will give you such a jolt that you can’t deny God’s presence.

There is no scripture reference for the actual term God Winks. But, it is a modern-day term that defines these moments in our life, that can be pointed to and identified, as God’s hand being clearly visible in the outcome of “the big picture”. The Bible tells us throughout, that God is always in control, he knows what will happen before we do; He knows what we need and when we need it. He knows the hairs on our head. Are we in tune with God enough to recognize these moments? I pray that you are because they are like balm for a weary spirit. Once you recognize God Winks for what they are, write them down, find pleasure in them, and give thanks for them. It is simply another visible instance of God’s love for us, being shown, in a way to affirm us and cause us to pause, give thanks, and glorify Him.

May you find those God Winks that bring you joy, so that you continue to Glorify God in all that you do.