Look for the Incidental Things

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)

The Lord is not just working in the essential and the crucial areas of your life, but is also working in the areas of your life that are incidental.

There are so many things that are crucial and essential in our lives. For example, my primary education was essential for sure—reading, writing, math—but it was the soft elective of music that introduced me to the man who would then introduce me to Christ. The result would be the trajectory that led me to ministry, which became both my passion and my profession. History, science, and language were essential courses for me to take, but the incidental addition of choir being on my class schedule became the catalyst for my yielding eventually to the call of God on my life.

Some of the most significant aspects of our lives begin with the incidental, the things that happen en route to a place, the discoveries that change your life while searching for something else.

Don't just look for God in the essential areas of your life. Don't just look for God in the crucial areas of your life. Don't just look for God in the necessary areas of your life. But look for God also in the incidental exposures and encounters and exchanges in your life. The impact from these areas can inspire others, change the landscape, bring glory to God, bless lives, and extend the witness of Jesus.

God puts blessing and power and resources in these incidental things that are happening to and around you every day. And here is my strong encouragement: Learn to look for them. Stay discerning about them so that you can steward them faithfully. See them as God moments, opportunities to grow spiritually.