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Devotional | Katie Mentzel | Oct 31, 2021
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Matthew 5:8
A few weekends ago, I was en route to one of five soccer games for my four children, when I got a gentle nudge. It was a nudge that signaled to me I needed to confirm where I was going and what soccer field we were assigned. Some might call it intuition, others may credit learned experience from showing up at the wrong time and place a time or two, but as a Christian, I credit the nudge to the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who signaled to me something was amiss, and when I checked the soccer schedule, it confirmed that I was indeed headed in the wrong direction to the wrong soccer complex.
As I turned the car around, I silently thanked God. I thanked him for his provision, his grace, and for sparing me the heartache, frustration, and embarrassment of showing up to the wrong field. And though that may be a dramatic, hypothetical reaction to showing up at the wrong soccer field, when you juggle four kids and their schedules, get them out of the house in weather-appropriate attire (WITH SHOES!) and are actually going to be on time, even the smallest hitch in the plan can cause a momentary meltdown.
It was during my silent prayer that my ten-year-old asked, “Mom, what made you decide to check your phone?” I told her I didn’t really know. I just had that feeling that I needed to make sure I knew where I was going. She noted it was a good thing I didn’t just look at the field number and actually looked at the name of the complex. I agreed! I hadn’t considered that possibility. Then she said something terribly sweet and profound, “I think God was working in your heart on that one.”
Her response reminds me of my favorite verse of the Beatitudes, Jesus’ sermon spanning Matthew 5-7. In Matthew 5:8 Jesus declares, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Though without Christ, my daughter (and all of us) cannot claim to be perfectly pure of heart, when we are connected to God and walking closely with him, we will see his goodness in our lives and give him credit for the work he is doing.
When others would argue everything is a coincidence, followers of Christ see God in the good, hard, mundane, and extravagant details of our lives. When we worship God regularly, confess our sins to him and others, spend time in prayer with him and read his Word, he gives us eyes to see him more often and clearly.
Katie Mentzel
Elementary Director
kmentzel@crossings.church
Bio: Katie Mentzel is the Elementary Director at Crossings Community Church. She is passionate about living her life for Jesus and partnering with parents to build a foundation of faith in the lives of their children.