It is easy in this modern world to take the natural order of things for granted and fail to see any particular influence of God in it.  It is easy to get the idea that everything takes place without the intervention of God, and yet God’s power is everywhere.  Nothing whatsoever escapes the power of God, and nothing can exist or act or react without it.  Because He wants us to live by faith, God does not intervene very often in ways that positively prove His direct action, but if we saw things as they are, the existence of one blade of grass is just as great a miracle as those things we usually call miracles.  God’s presence and influence is on us and our world all the time, and one of the most important things for us to do is to fit in with the action and influence and purpose of God.

The faith of the Israelites was based on a profound belief and an unwavering conviction that God was constantly watching over and acting and intervening in the affairs and existence of the world.  They attributed everything to His power, and they were quite right to do so.  We are far too weak in our faith in God’s vibrant presence everywhere and in all things and events. . .

Miracles are extraordinary interventions by God, but He is always watching over all things with His providence and, in a sense, always intervening.  There are probably many more miracles than we ever imagine, and many things we call coincidences are probably due to God’s action.  You may have noticed that when you pray for certain things the number of fortunate coincidences multiplies.

We lay a lot of stress on the effort and struggle that we have to keep up in the Christian life, and it is a good thing to realize that the path to God is uphill.  Nevertheless, it is not a good thing to get the idea that the main element in being faithful to God and in growing more perfect and holy is the ascetic training or fight we put up.  I am sure many of us very seriously underestimate the influence of God around and within us, and are so busy thinking about how to do this or that or get rid of this or that fault or change one way or another, that we hardly notice the gently influence or invitation to God’s grace.

The Good News that St. Paul speaks about is that we have life in Christ and from Him.  This is the life that Jesus proved Himself to be by raising the dead to life and rising from death Himself.  More important than anything we decide to do or try to do is the grace of Christ, the life of Christ within us, and that should be the basis of our confidence and all our effort.

The life of grace, the life Jesus has given us, that is within us with our cooperation, is a life of God’s power and intervention in our own lives and circumstances and opportunities.  We should get on much better in our lives for God if we paid more attention to the grace of God, to His presence and influence, than to our own efforts.  We should try to see our Christian lives more as a response to the influence or grace of God within us than as something from our own initiative.  If you know that God wants something and is with you helping you to do it or avoid doing it, it is much easier to fulfill His will than if you think of it in terms of yourself alone and your own will power.

We are agents for the intervention of God in this world . . . and He could do so much more through us if we trusted Him more and knew with greater conviction that He was helping us.