Six Ways God is Working in Your Life

Ever drawn a blank when asked how God is working in your life? You’re not the only one. It can be difficult to identify, much less articulate, God’s work in our lives.

According to Dr. Tim Sprankle, executive director of the Charis Fellowship, pastor of Leesburg Grace Church, graduate of Grace College in biblical studies, and graduate of Grace Theological Seminary with a master’s in divinity, part of a pastor’s role is to give congregants that language.

“I think a big part of a pastor’s job is not only to tell the story of Jesus but also to ask, ‘Is this church living out the story of Jesus?’” said Sprankle. “‘And how are the individual followers of Jesus and their stories tied into that?’”

That’s why he developed LOCATE, an acronym that lists six areas through which God is working in His people’s lives. Sprankle intends it as a tool for Christians to discover and verbalize God’s activity in their daily life.

LOCATE

LOCATE stands for Lessons, Opportunities, Challenges, Answers, Truth, and Echoes.

L refers to Lessons. What are the life lessons God is teaching you through your circumstances? For instance, Sprankle says, if you consistently find yourself working too hard and then crashing and burning, God is likely teaching you to spurn self-sufficiency and rely on Him alone.

O stands for Opportunities. This refers to the doors in your life that God is either opening or closing. Notice the ways God alters the paths you can take. Has a relationship ended? Did you receive a job offer?

Even the smaller areas, such as a sudden invitation or unexpected cancellation, may indicate God’s direction. While it’s crucial to practice discernment when an opportunity presents itself, prayerfully consider whether God may be opening or closing a door for you.

C is for Challenges. These are the struggles where nothing seems to change no matter what you try. Ask yourself: What kinds of challenges are you facing, and how is God working through them? How do you naturally react to them? What is the response God desires you to have?

A stands for Answers. How does God respond to your prayers? Pay attention to the instances, no matter how minute, where your prayers are fulfilled. While we may struggle with thanking God for answering our prayers, we often can’t even identify when He has in the first place.

T is for Truth. This refers to truths that God teaches you through the study of His Word. Sprankle distinguishes truth from life lessons in that truth refers exclusively to what we learn from Scripture and biblical counsel, while life lessons are more general.

E refers to Echos. A “sacred echo” is a theme in your life that continually emerges. For example, if you receive the same advice or hear the same Scripture from trusted believers, God may be speaking through an echo.

According to Sprankle, some of these areas come more naturally to believers than others. For example, most Christians already seek God’s work through the Bible and answers to prayer. Most Christians also implicitly know God is working through opportunities and challenges, even if they’re not able to verbalize it.

“We’ve been explicitly taught that spiritual growth is tied to reading our Bible and prayer,” said Sprankle. “We need reminders that God also works in the everyday, ordinary aspects of our lives.”

According to Sprankle, the area that has resonated with many is the echo. He’s seen it this year with his theme word, wisdom. Once he chose it, the concept of wisdom appeared everywhere.

“It’s crazy how often I would see the theme of wisdom in any random book I was reading,” he said. “I was like, ‘Thank you, God, for reminding me of wisdom again.’ I see that as God giving me something that I’ve asked for.”

Ultimately, Sprankle hopes Christians can use the acronym to encourage and edify each other with their own testimonies.

“When a person stands up and shares a story, there’s something that happens that causes self-reflection for every listener,” he said. “Every testimony is a reminder that God still works.”

Read Sprankle’s full story, and explore admissions at Grace Seminary.