Late yesterday, I received a WhatsApp message, one unexpected.  The message was simple in its phrasing yet vast in the immediate love I felt for the sender.

The message:  “Was thinking about you!  I hope that you are doing well.”

As I brushed my teeth for bed, I read her message, one from a young woman who came into my life in 2017.  She has become precious to me.  Even though we do not talk daily, weekly, or even monthly, still we remain connected because we do—TALK.

When we decide to “have a chat,” we use our time together during our WhatsApp call to catch up on one another’s lives.  She now lives in the same country as I, but to hug her, I would need to drive ten hours, and her university study and career keep her too busy to visit.  In fact, the last time she stayed in my home was more than four years ago.  Still, though, we talk often about her “coming to visit,” and maybe one day soon, she will do just that—Come for a long-extended stay.

This morning, I found myself thinking of this beautiful young lady as I opened my Bible to read, & I found myself drawn to the way the LORD Restores Our Soul.  This wonderful promise of God became planted in my heart as I drifted off to sleep, and that caused me to search the Word of God for a passage about His restoration.

God’s Holy Spirit brought me to Psalm 139: 17-18 this morning because with God, there are no chance meetings, no happenstance, no coincidences.

With God, there is only HIS providential timing!

This beautiful woman’s message last evening was not a chance text.  NO!  It was God connecting her thoughts to my thoughts!  Just earlier in the evening, I was conversing with three beautiful students who are staying with me at our house for the weekend, and as we spoke together, this young lady’s face (the beautiful late-night message bearer) came flooding into my mind.

• That was not a coincidence!
• That was God’s providence!

Then when she was compelled to send me her message—“Was thinking about you!  I hope that you are doing well.”

• That was not a coincidence!
• That was God’s providence!

The LORD restores our soul in so many ways because

• EVERYTHING comes from GOD!

YES, the LORD restores our soul because

• God is so good!

MOST ASSUREDLY, the LORD brings to us His restoration because

• God’s works are good!

• God whispers HIS PROMISE to us.
• God renews our HOPE through the study of Scriptures.
• God invites us to recall all the ways He brings ABUNDANCE out of emptiness.
• God Restores Our Soul—with HIS PRESENCE.

MAY OUR FAITH AFFECT “EVERYTHING” WE ARE!

OUR LIFE—OUR FAMILY—OUR MARRIAGE—OUR CHOICES—OUR CAREER—OUR RELATIONSHIPS—OUR WHATSAPP MESSAGING—OUR DAILY WALK—OUR SERVANTHOOD—OUR LOVE FOR OTHERS—OUR THOUGHTS—OUR REACTIONS—OUR EVERYTHING THAT COMPRISES—OUR LIFE!

The movement of people from here to there can often be overlooked, but when the missionary apostle Paul and his evangelism partner Silas left Thessalonica and went to Berea, they encountered believers who were eagerly studying God’s Word daily.

• May we be encouraged by their example.
• May we be willing to follow their example.

As we come to an end of this writing, let me encourage you:  Do not ever believe just because someone tells you to believe.

Take up the Word of God & study it.  In fact, we should study the Bible daily.

• See for ourselves the TRUTH!
• Eagerly Examine the Bible to find God’s truth!

For sure, the truth of God is there—within His Word.

Truly, it’s God speaking to each of us:  “Child, I am thinking about you!  I hope that you are doing well.”