Confirming Circumstances

A few years ago, I sat beside an older woman on a plane for my trip home from a business trip.  It didn't take long and we were having a grand old chat.  She was going to visit her niece.  One thing led to another and we discovered her niece is one of my good friends.  We got off the plane and together met my friend to her surprise.

Quite the coincidence, eh?!  <If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm Canadian and proud of it!>

Or was it?

It is funny how many people, regardless of their religious beliefs, will make a statement like "I believe that everything happens for a reason".  That is a tough pill to swallow in the midst of some significant storms in your life. I believe that there are chance encounters but I also believe that our path is often laid out before us.

I've had a number of events in my life that when I describe them to people, they look at me like I might be losing it.  Not an uncommon theme but I can tell they aren't connecting with what I am saying.  I am describing how a series of events in my life have aligned me to do something, and it can only be God orchestrated.

Every year at our church, we do a short series on how to know if God is speaking to us.  There are five bullets to this which include:

1. Biblical - is the event supported by the Bible
2. Holy Spirit - am I sensing His presence in the situation
3. Godly Advice - either seeked or freely given, do Godly advisors support what I am feeling
4. God's Silence - am I hearing God in the situation
5. Confirming Circumstances - are the events in my life leading me in the direction

Confirming Circumstances.

This is when things just align to get you to that place.  To make it happen when something seems impossible.  When you can look back at your life and see a sharp veer in the direction and realize that it wasn't anything you did.

The Bible is full of Confirming Circumstances.  In the Bible, it is called fulfilling the prophecies.

The birth of Jesus Christ.  Even if you are a non-believer, you have to be impressed that a book written hundreds of years earlier foretold of the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) who was of the family of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), the house of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6) and born of a virgin mother (Isaiah 7:14) .  And so many other fulfillment's.

How is that for Confirming Circumstances? 

In the upcoming weeks, I will be sharing stories that many will believe are coincidences.  Knowing what was happening in my life and having the ability to look back objectively, I know these events were not coincidences but rather God events. Confirming Circumstances for the life that God wants me to have.  These will include:

• The Reluctant Attendee - the story behind of how I ended up at the retreat that led to my change From The Inside Out.
• Reaching 1000 - how does a numbers guy turn into a writer?
• Just a Stranger (Guest Post) - the significance of a chance meeting.
• Was It Meant To Be (Guest Post) - a love story involving a truck stop.
• The Fly Fart - doesn't the title just make you want to read it?
• Fields of Grace (Guest Post) - a story of transformation
• February 28th - how the anniversary of the miscarriage of our only natural child became a day of celebration.

Perhaps you have a Confirming Circumstance to share? If you would like to share it, I would love to hear it. God has worked in our lives in so many ways, those stories need to be shared.

What story would you like to share today?


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Thank you for taking the time to read one of the many Wandering Thoughts that God has been putting on my heart. If this has touched you in anyway, I would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment below and share your own personal revelations; or send me a personal message on Google+ or Facebook.

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Have a wonderful day.