Remember the “God-Winks”

You might be wondering what God-winks are. Well, I’ve been getting them for a good number of years, but for a long time I didn’t have a name for these experiences.

“God-winks” are the little things that God does for us, which may only be meaningful to us, but they let us know that He is present and watching over us. He sees us and He cares about what we call “needs,” which are often only wants, but He provides them just because He loves us. They could be as simple as a sunny day when you really need one, someone holding the door open for you, or even just a small word of encouragement.

When God winks at us, it means that He loves us and notices us and that we are very important to Him. Sadly, we often miss His winks because we write them off as coincidences when perhaps we should see them as miracles. We say we want God to do miracles in our lives. Perhaps He does them all the time and we just don’t see them!

Sometimes, I notice what I call seasons of God showing off in my life. One week in particular, I had God-winks almost every day. I wanted to get my hair washed and styled, but when I called, I was told the salon was booked. Then, suddenly the woman said, “Wait a minute. Let me see what I can do.” When she returned to the phone, she said, “I worked it out. You can get your hair done now!”

I was also given an unexpected 25 percent off at a shop. They called it a “friends and family discount,” but I called it a God-wink. Later, we got the last available table at a restaurant that was packed. And even later than that, my son called just to tell me he loved me, and my other son dropped by with flowers.

God works through people, and even though we should thank them for what they do for us, we should thank God because the blessings we receive are actually Him working through people to bless and encourage us. The Bible teaches that we have favor with God and that He gives us favor with people (Proverbs 3:4).

We can and should train ourselves to watch for the special ways God helps, encourages, and blesses us and say, “Thank You!” We cannot experience the power of “Thank You” unless we practice thinking and saying it.

This is a great way to stay focused on God and connected with Him all day, every day. He is never more than a thought or a word of thanks away from us, and He winks at us more often than we may realize. In fact, Scripture tells us that God is with us at all times and promises never to leave us (Deuteronomy 31:8). This is wonderful to know, but we get an extra blessing when we find ways to converse with Him throughout the day. “Thank You” is just one of many ways we can do this.

_{Adapted from the book The Power of Thank You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2022 by Joyce Meyer. Published by Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.}