God’s Fingerprints
Take a moment and look at the objects around you. The fact is that you have just identified multiple locations for fingerprints. And while you’ve been meaning to clean those smudgy prints off of that glass door, there are far more fingerprints than the natural eye can see. During my morning shave, I left my fingerprints on the razor. When I picked up my coffee cup, I left fingerprints. When I placed my hands on the door to venture outside, I left more fingerprints. If you are reading this devotion from your smartphone or tablet, you have already left fingerprints on the device that you’re holding.
Fingerprints are the identifying mark of who we are. And while some debate the absolute uniqueness of our fingerprint, it is still the oldest and most accurate method of identifying individuals.
In 1902, the United States began the first systematic use of fingerprints, but it’s history dates back to 200 BC. Chinese artifacts from this period include details about using handprints as evidence during burglary investigations. Even today during a crime scene investigation, police will dust for fingerprints to see who has been at that location. Law enforcement spends a great deal of time and money attempting to identify someone based on recovered fingerprints.
In the same way, God’s fingerprints are everywhere in our day to day lives. To the world, these fingerprints cannot be seen, but to those who examine their lives through spiritual eyes, they can see God’s fingerprints everywhere. When the words: Bells Palsy are mentioned, I immediately see God’s fingerprints on my life. Let me explain.
After graduating high school, I signed up for a college course to obtain a degree in Computer Science. Little did I know that signing up for that degree would put my spiritual life in jepoardy. The theme of my college learning was to take an idea or belief apart and scrutinize it, just like I did with computer code.
But something was happening inside of me. The spiritual things that I accepted by faith were now under a carnal microscope. Without realizing what was happening to me, I began to question everything associated with my faith. For example, I would see someone crying in church and the normal reaction would be, “they are feeling the touch of the God.” But then nagging questions began to surface. A person also sheds a tear when they see the American flag coming down the street in a parade. Was crying just another human emotion? When someone said that they were “feeling the Lord”, were they only just feeling a normal human emotion?
What about the Bible? How do we know that the men who wrote it were truly inspired of God? What about our holiness way of living a separated life? The questions were endless and I spent many hours sharing these with my family. Many times, I would hear them say “There are some things that are only understood by faith.” But that only drove me to ask more questions. What I didn’t know was that my mother began to pray, “Lord, I can see that my son is struggling with his faith. Please do whatever it takes for Richard to maintain his salvation.”
Shortly thereafter I woke up with no feeling on the right side of my face. The diagnosis was Bells Palsy. A rare paralysis that causes one side of a person’s face to stop functioning, similar to a stroke. I could not blink my right eye, I could not control saliva from drooling, I could not eat or drink without it falling out the side of my mouth. Chances of recovery are slim if a person has not recovered in six weeks.
What was the first thing that I started doing? Praying! I would close myself in a room and for hours I would beg God to heal me. I would beg and I would plead for this dreadfully, humiliating condition to be removed. Naturally my mother’s heart was broken as she watched me struggle with the Bells Palsy. But she saw the fingerprints of God all over my situation and never backed away from her prayer of, “Whatever it takes Lord.”
One day as I was begging God to heal me, I said in desperation, “Lord, I truly believe that you can heal me!” Then I heard Him speak, “Son, if you’re going to have faith in me for your healing, you’ve got to have faith in all of me!” It was then that I realized how foolish I had been to lose my grip on faith and hold to the mere writing from an atheistic textbook author.
As the weeks wore on, the Bells Palsy was just as severe in spite of medication and therapy. My mother grew worried about how this was affecting me spiritually and asked me how I was doing. At that moment, I may have looked stricken on the outside but I was a healed person on the inside. Standing there in the living room of our camper, I raised both hands and told her, “I’m believing God to heal me…but even if He doesn’t, I will still believe in healing, and I will believe that the Bible is right!” Finally when the sixth week passed and there was no change, I accepted (with tears) that I would have to reap the seeds of doubt that I allowed to be sown. I believe God postponed my healing so that I would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was my Healer and not the doctors. I’m happy to tell you that God not only healed me on the inside but He also healed me of Bells Palsy!
Can you see the fingerprints of God in my situation? Had I not encountered this terrible affliction, I may have completely lost my faith.Friend, if you will look closely at your own life, you will see God’s fingerprints all over your difficult circumstances. And when you see them, the next step is for you to take your hands off of the situation. Your fingerprints aren’t needed. Trust Him. He makes no mistakes and will work all things for your good. My mother has reminded me of the verse below time and time again. It is certainly a healthy reminder for all of us:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.