This is day 15 in a new series: 31 Letters from London. In October, I’m doing something a little different and writing to you about the realities of life as an expat; finding the nearness of God through random experiences with new culture. It’s important to begin here and find the collection of letters here. We’re breaking for Sabbath every Sunday.

As I focus on writing chapters of my book in the Cotswolds this week, I’m sharing Daily Thoughts originally broadcast on Premier Christian Radio. You can listen to it here. Slide cursor to minute 30:48 to hear me.

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May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah.

This passage in Psalm 67 is a common liturgy used for Sunday worship in the church I attend but what does His face to shine upon us really mean anyway? The Selah is a clue that I need to stop and think about it.

A few weeks ago, two young friends told me about their last minute decision to go to Wimbledon on a day off work. And shortly after they arrived at the venue, two seats in the front row miraculously became available at a reduced rate.

God’s face was shining upon them.

I once asked a group of women to pray for our family when an unexpected car problem caused stress on our bank account. Less than twenty four hours later an anonymous envelope of money appeared through our mail slot; the exact amount we needed.

God’s face was shining upon us.

A timely encouragement from an acquaintance slipped into your inbox. A pay raise you didn’t expect when your spouse was made redundant. A gift you wanted but never verbalized to anyone. Leftovers from a conference that extend a tight food budget for the week. A chance meeting with a friend you  were just thinking about.

These are all ways God’s face shines upon us.

Some people might call these chance encounters coincidences but for those of us who know friendship with Jesus, Paul’s words echo from 2 Corinthians.

It started when God said, “Light up the darkness! And our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you may well miss the brightness.”

Don’t allow circumstances to snuff out the brightness of God’s face shining upon you today. Pause and think of the ways in which the face of Jesus illuminates His nearness with you right now, in this moment.

Your coincidence may actually be a God-incidence.

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