Right In Front Of You: Seeing God's Presence in Everyday Life

By Ken Sadler II

Men, do you find yourself wondering if God is present in your everyday life? Is He around even in the smallest of encounters? In his book, Right in Front of You, Ken Sadler II has provided real-life examples that show God is present every day, from the significant occurrences to ones that are minor.

The daily devotionals are designed to be read in 5 minutes or less. The devotional starts out with an appropriate scriptural reading or inspirational saying. There is an action plan that relates to the devotional reading for that day. The action plan is simple and designed for immediate implementation. This book will inspire and motivate you to action.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Jan 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781456629878

Book preview

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Introduction

Men, do you find yourself wondering if God is present in your everyday life? Is He around even in the smallest of encounters?

After reading this book, you will be better equipped to discern the voice of God speaking to you in your everyday life. You will also be able see from my everyday encounters that I provide that there are lessons to be learned if you are willing and open to receiving them.

Why write a book that provides devotional readings? Aren’t there enough of them on the market already? Why did I write this book? I wrote this book for 2 reasons. First and foremost, I want you to realize that God is present in your everyday lives and the things that you experience on a daily basis are not mere happenstance. Secondly, I want you to know that God provides teachable moments in every encounter. The key is to be able to recognize them. I’ve provided insights that I’ve experienced in my life and the things that I’ve learned from it.

I realize that we live in a see it and get it now society. As a result, I have written the devotionals to be read in 5 minutes or less. The devotional starts out with an appropriate scriptural reading or inspirational saying. The devotional itself reflects life experiences that may be similar to yours. There is an action plan that relates to the devotional reading for that day. The action plan is simple and designed for immediate implementation.

I hope that you find inspiration in reading this and it spurs you to greater action in your life. All of us have the seeds of greatness residing in us, and the world is ready for you to make your contribution. So turn the page and begin now!

Day 1 Come In and Play

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another - John 13:34

I have 2 sons, ages 13 and 15 and it's amazing to watch the dynamics at work in their relationship. There are times that they can be each other’s best friend, and then they are times where they will wish the other has not been born. I see these dynamics at work in both my personal and professional life. How many times do we determine the value of a relationship by the benefit that it can bring us? Once the individual we are interacting with has no value that lines up with advancing our agenda, we tend to move on. I have been guilty of this on more than one occasion. The sad thing about it is that as a Christian, I am in a great position to have a positive impact on those individuals, but I dropped the ball with my behavior. As a result, I live up (or down for that matter) to the expectations that they have about me as a Christian.

I have seen this at work watching children play, and it parallels adult behavior. Please let me explain. One kid may have a toy that no one wants and laughs at them about having it since it's not the cool toy like everyone else has. The parallel in the adult world is the Christian that's ostracized in the workplace for his beliefs and everyone laughing about his faith and not participating in the cool activities with them. The kid with the weird toy is now left alone to play in the sandbox. On the surface, it looks like a bad thing. However, if the kid is secure in who he is, he will start to play with the toy in the sandbox and thoroughly start to enjoy himself like the adult that's secure in his faith. At some point, the kids with the cool toys start to look at the kid in the sandbox and wonder why this kid is having fun with the weird toy. They are thinking that their toys are better because the world has said so, but they are no longer as fun. Eventually, they make their way over to the sandbox to observe the kid with the toy that's not cool. At some point, they gain enough courage to ask, can I play? This is where we as Christians sometimes stumble. Instead of doing as Jesus stated in the above-referenced scripture, we sometimes (from a position of hurt and anger) tell them to get out of the sandbox instead of welcoming them in. I know it's not easy, but we need to show love, put aside our feelings and invite them in the sandbox and play. This is where we show the world the difference that comes from living as Christians.

To love is not a new command, but to love sacrificially as Christ did is the new command. Prior to this, the standard was to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Loving one another as Christ loves us is the start of making change for the better in our communities and sphere of influence. It starts with one man.

ACTION PLAN: When others ridicule you for your faith and beliefs, resist the temptation to lash out and invite them into your sandbox to play once your actions compel to investigate your toy further.

Day 2 Faith = Risk

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going - Hebrews 11:8

There are times in your life that you don't know where God is going to lead you. You have to take a leap of faith. Abraham left all that he knew and made his home in a strange land. All he had was his faith and the belief that God was going to make him a father of many nations based on the covenant that was made. Abraham believed this even though he was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was barren. When your faith is placed in God that is all you need. When you walk in faith, God empowers you with the strength to step out of your comfort zone and face the risks and fears head-on. Be warned; there are times that God will require you to take risks in order to test your faith and dependence on Him. Hudson Taylor, the great man of faith who founded the China Inland Mission, integrated faith, and risk. He said, Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith. No truer words have been spoken. It is so easy to stay in our comfort zones and not risk anything. As an unknown person said, you can never stub your toe by standing still.

In order to change the world, you have to be willing to step out on faith and trust God to supply you with what you need to accomplish His will. It may require a change on your part. Abraham had a name change before he became the father of many nations because he was no longer the same person. If you are operating in accordance with God's will and His plan, you can address the future with confidence and begin to impact the world in a positive manner and encourage others to do the same.

Action Plan: When God speaks to you to move in a direction, have faith to know that the reward is worth the risk.

Day 3 Precious Gifts

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him - Psalm 127:3 NLT

I have 2 sons that live with my wife and me. What you may not know is that I have a daughter from a previous marriage. She is a college graduate that lives in another state. Because of the divorce and the fact that she moved away with her mother to another state within a few years after the divorce, I was unable to see her grow up. I was not there to comfort her when she skinned her knee. I was not there to see her go to the prom; I was not there to help teach her how to drive. I share part of the blame for being absent from some of these important events in her life. I will never be able to get that time back. I had a great conversation with her in which she shared a number of things that are currently going on in her life. After hanging up the phone, I realized that even though I was not there for some of the important events that took place earlier in her life, I can be there now. It's amazing that even though distance and years may have separated us, I still see some of me in her. She has that same restless spirit that I possess. When she tells me about her dreams and aspirations, I can only smile because I have been there. I know exactly how she is feeling because I felt the same way. God is giving me another chance to enjoy the gift that he gave me in the way of children.

Men, do you, like me, have relationships with your child/ children that need to be repaired? If so, it's not too late to start the process. It can began with a letter, phone call, text, Snap Chat or Instagram (how's that for using social media tools for a guy from another generation!). Whatever it takes to start a meaningful dialogue, you need to do it. As I stated, it's a process. You will not be able to retrieve all of the years back overnight. Please don't make that mistake. However, you can start building the foundation for a new relationship today. The key is not to be weighed down by the mistakes that you may have made in the past and commit to moving forward. As it is stated in Lamentation 3: 23, Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin each morning afresh. That should form the basis of the start of your new relationship. The benefits in resolving to repair a fractured relationship far outweigh the fear of failure. I can personally attest to this. It will take some work, but I am willing and able to begin to enjoy the benefits of the gifts that God has provided me.

ACTION PLAN: Identify a relationship (preferably with your children) that you need to work on. Resolve to begin the process to start the healing. It can begin innocently enough with an apology or forgiveness if that's the case.

Day 4 Why Do These Things Happen?

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts - Isaiah 55:8-9

2004 was a pretty tough year for my family. In June of that year, we lost our Nana, the matriarch of our family. We had her funeral and buried her without the presence of my mother, who was in the hospital fighting for her life. Her body was ravaged by an infection. She was already considerably weakened by the cardiac arrest that she had suffered 2 years prior. In August, Mama passed away. She could no longer effectively fight the infection that had attacked her body. After her funeral, we figured that enough tragedy had visited our family and we needed time to pull our lives back together. I was sitting at my desk at work in September when I received a telephone call informing me that my father in law had just been killed in a farming accident. This was even more difficult because my wife did not know and I had to drive to her work to communicate this to her. The overriding question in