God is Always Active

1. Child Hearing from God
Everyday + Innocent Faith

Eight-year-old Lily was at a kids' camp when the counselor asked them to be still and “listen” for anything God might say. Most kids fidgeted. But Lily closed her eyes, and a minute later whispered to her counselor:

“God told me my dad is going to come to church with us this Sunday.”

Her dad hadn’t been to church in years. That Sunday? He came.

Sometimes, the youngest ears are the most uncluttered.

“Let the little children come to me… for the kingdom belongs to such as these.” —Matthew 19:14

2. A Person Adjusts Their Life After Hearing from God
Contemporary Example: Career Surrender

Jason was a successful marketing executive climbing the corporate ladder. But during a quiet moment on a mission trip, he sensed a deep, unexpected prompting:

“You’ve built your life for your own glory. Will you trust Me with something more eternal?”

It wasn’t audible. But it was undeniable.

Jason didn’t become a pastor—but he stepped off the fast track, started mentoring young professionals, and re-centered his career around kingdom impact.

He says now:

“I didn’t hear God until I finally got quiet enough to ask questions I didn’t want answered.”

3. Church History: George Müller and the Orphan Homes
Hearing through Faithful Dependence

George Müller (1805–1898) cared for over 10,000 orphans in England—but he never asked anyone for money. Instead, he prayed. Every time a need arose, he would ask God directly—and every time, provision came.

One morning, with no food and dozens of children sitting at the breakfast tables, Müller prayed: “Thank You for the food You will provide.”

Within minutes, a baker knocked—he couldn’t sleep the night before and felt God told him to bake extra bread. Then a milkman’s cart broke down in front of the house and he donated all the milk before it spoiled.

Müller once said: “God does not speak audibly, but He has never failed to answer when I sought Him by faith.”

4. Modern Ministry: Jackie Pullinger in Hong Kong
Hearing God's Call to Go

In the 1960s, 22-year-old Jackie Pullinger felt a call to missions. She didn’t know where, so she prayed. She felt God say: “Buy a one-way ticket and I’ll tell you when to get off the boat.”

She obeyed, and when the ship docked in Hong Kong, she felt peace. Jackie disembarked—and eventually began serving in the infamous Walled City, ministering to drug addicts and gang members.

Today, her ministry has helped transform thousands of lives, and it began with one quiet nudge from God.

“If you want to be led by the Spirit, you have to be willing to go where you didn’t plan to go.”

• When have you recently experienced God in a way that stopped you in your tracks?
• When was the last time God made Himself unmistakably known to you?
• Some of you might say:
• For me, never. I’m hoping for it one day. I’m giving church a try, I’m leaning in hoping that I can find exactly that.
• Some of you might know exactly when…and you could tell the story in detail.  God spoke to me in a specific way, answered a prayer I’ve been praying, gave me peace about a situation, provided breakthrough that I’ve been needing, revealed himself to me in some way that I knew it was him.
• 
  

Here’s the question of this series: Can I still experience God?

The answer is: Yes.

This Fall we’re studying Moses, doing a biblical character study of this guy’s life…or at least a portion of his life…There’s so much to learn from this brother in our quest to learn how to have experiences of God.

Prior to the birth of Moses, the people of God find themselves in a place of peace.
 
They were experiencing famine and desperation, and sought out relief and rescue…
God’s people journeyed to Egypt, where God provided Joseph to move his people from famine to feasting.

Then they moved from problem to peace…they now had food, a new start, land. Life was good.

As time went on, Joseph and his family grew old and passed away, and the people of God began to multiply and grow in Egypt – big time.

Exodus 1:7
But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Look where Israel is now. They were in peace…now they are about to experience a problem.  As they grew in number, they also grew decreasingly attractive to Egypt and to Pharoah. They were quickly outnumbering the Egyptians. Pharoah was freaking out, so much so that he hatched a plan…

Notice what happens:

Exodus 1:9-14
And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

Alright…life is getting harder now. They are officially ENSLAVED. They have moved from peace and prosperity to a very difficult life full of problems.

And notice how the plot intensifies even more…

Exodus 1:15-22
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Pharaoh’s plan, enslave the people of God, the Israelites…But that didn’t work, because they continued to multiply and become many and mighty.  

So Pharoah then commands that they execute the baby boys. This is infanticide…if an Israelite child was a girl, let them live; but if a boy, execution immediately…

His mindset:

“This will serve to slow their population and to show them who is boss. We can control them this way.”

God’s people move from peace to problem back and forth, back and forth…

Our lives sometimes look like this. Problem to peace to problem to peace and back to problem.


I don’t know anyone who’s life is a continual “up and to the right” trajectory.  This just isn’t reality. If this is your expectation as a human, it’s not going to go like this…If this is your expectation as a Christian, this is not going to happen.


Life for the people of God in Exodus looks more like this…and our lives, we know this, look the same.

Ups and downs and all arounds…joy and pain, sadness and questions, wins and losses…human condition…

But listen, and this is so powerful…While this is happening, don’t miss what’s going on behind the scenes. I want to show you…

Exodus 2:1-10
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
 
Here is what I want to make sure you here today: Behind the scenes in times of peace/problems God is always active.

• God is always working.
• There’s not a day that goes by where God isn’t working.
• There’s not a situation that arises in your life where God isn’t intimately involved and active.

Think about a problem that is current or a situation that is stressful real-time in your life right now…Listen…

• God is working.
• God is doing something.
• God is always active.

All we have to do is look at the life of Moses to gain encouragement today…I want to give you Four Principles that We See about God and His Providence in Our Lives:

Four Principles of God’s Providence

• God’s Silence is Not God’s Absence 

I began this message sharing about experiencing God and hearing His voice. But often times, we experience silence instead. There are times of loneliness, grief, and frustration. The only thing we hear are the problems we are facing, not the peace that escapes us.
Here are God’s people, struggling, suffering, stressed out – for no fault of their own. They are simply in Egypt, by the previous Pharaoh’s blessing, living their lives, growing families. The new Pharaoh takes the throne and begins to enslave them. And they were in Egypt for  400 years!

This was told to Abraham in Genesis 15.

Genesis 15:13-14
Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

400 years… That’s quite a long time. It’s hard for us to imagine 400 years…

Some of you may feel like you’re in a situation that feels like a long time, maybe even 400 years. It may feel like God’s silence is God’s absence. Let me assure you this is not the case!
 
Amy Carmichael felt called to mission work in her early 20s. After a short stint in Japan and Sri Lanka, she arrived in India in 1895, where she would serve for the rest of her life.

She became known for:

• Rescuing children (especially girls) from being trafficked into Hindu temple prostitution (a culturally accepted practice at the time)
• Raising and discipling these children in a family-style community at Dohnavur
• Living a simple, sacrificial life—often ill, bedridden, and eventually confined to her room for the last 20 years of her life after a fall

She chose to wear Indian dress, eat Indian food, and live among the people—modeling incarnational ministry long before it was widely discussed.
 
Amy Carmichael wrote over 35 books, including:

• Gold Cord (about her work in India)
• If (a piercing book on Christ-like love and humility)
• Edges of His Ways (devotional writings)
• Things As They Are (exposing the realities of mission work and cultural sins like temple prostitution)

Her writing style is deeply poetic, reflective, and born from seasons of suffering and silence. She often wrote from a place of deep communion with God, even when His voice felt distant.

Notice what she says of God’s silence:
 
“Sometimes God withholds His voice so that we might learn to walk by faith and not by feeling. His silence is a gift, not a punishment.” — Amy Carmichael
 
This quote reflects her theology of suffering and spiritual formation. She saw silence not as abandonment, but as God's loving invitation to deeper trust.
 
When things are quiet and God seems silent, distant, and disinterested, don’t quit. God is working behind the scenes in the quiet. Stay the course.

Notice again, Genesis 14:15.

Genesis 14:15
But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

God had already promised what he would going to do…and the emergence of Moses is setting the table for his work.

The second principle that I want to share with you is this:
 
Four Principles of God’s Providence

• God’s Silence is Not God’s Absence
• God Provision is a Person 

Exodus 2:1-2
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

In literature, movies, and in storytelling, there are a number of similar character components that are easily identifiable. Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth…or Heroe’s Journey possesses these elements:

Campbell’s Hero’s Journey

Role	Function in Story
Hero	Grows and transforms through the journey
Mentor	Provides wisdom, training, courage (e.g., Yoda, Gandalf)
Ally	Supports the hero along the way
Shadow	Represents evil or internal struggle
Herald	Brings the call to action
Trickster	Brings disruption or comic relief

The Role of the Hero in Great Stories

What Is the Hero’s Role?

• The central figure who responds to the call, despite fear or uncertainty
• Represents the audience—we see ourselves in their journey
• Faces trials that lead to growth, sacrifice, and transformation

As Exodus 2 opens, we are introduced to Moses’ mom (Jochebed) and Dad (Amram)…. They get married, have a baby…Don’t miss what’s going on…The Hero of the Story is Being Introduced!
 

• Behind the scenes, God is always active. Working. Here he is, providing a person to carry out his plans. Rescue! He had foreshadowed the 400 years, and now Moses is on the scene…
• God doesn’t forget his people. God doesn’t fail his promises. He hears their heart cries. He sees their struggle. He comes near to their needs. 
• How? God provides a person! 
• God uses people to accomplish his purposes!

What person or people has God brought into your life at just the right time to bring you through? Maybe give them a call…send them a card…grab a bite with them and thank them for being used by God in your life.

Let’s keep walking through this story. The third principle I want to share with you about God’s Providence is this:

Four Principles of God’s Providence

• God’s Silence is Not God’s Absence
• God Provision is a Person
• God Rewards Those Who Risk

Moses’ mom…doesn’t get enough credit.  She’s incredible.  She’s a civil disobedient woman.

The writer of Hebrews saw her risky faith. Notice what Hebrews 11:23 says.

Hebrews 11:23
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
 
Moses’ mother, Jachobed, didn’t know who Moses would become or what God’s plans included for him – The Prince of Egypt, right? All she knew to do was to try and save his life.
She didn’t have certainty her plan would work. It would take risk…not knowing.

What does she do?

• Makes a basket, makes it as strong as possible.
• Waterproof’s the basket to the best of her ability, and puts him down in the river, not knowing what will happen.

Exodus 2:3
When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
 
Now, if you watch the movie, the Prince of Egypt, Moses’ mother puts him in the river and the river carries him. Whether he is carried along by the river or not, when she puts her son in that basket and puts him in that river, all she can do is put him in God’s hands. That’s as certain as she can be when his future is one of uncertainty.

Did you know that being put into the hands of God is the best place one can be?

I will often pray with someone for one of their loved ones. It is here that I say, “Lord, we place them in your hands, and that’s the best place that they can be.”

The only certainty in uncertainty is putting our needs, wants, desires, concerns, and loved ones into the hands of God.

Andrew Murray says…
Jochebed released her grip on the basket, but God never released His. When we let go in faith, we discover that God’s hold is far more secure than our own.”
 
When she did this, what did she experience? Moses was drawn out of the water…(That’s what his name means).

• He was protected.
• He was rescued.
• He was spared, even against Pharaoh’s own orders to kill all baby boys.
• She even was able to nurse him, and care for him, and mother him. God honored her faith.

Where is uncertainty in your life? Risk? Temptation is to unplug. Don’t. The Almighty Hand is directing every uncertainty…

What things are out of your control? Cast your cares on the Lord, he cares for you.

The Fourth Principle of God’s Providence that I want to share with you today, remembering that God is Always Active, is…

Four Principles of God’s Providence

• God’s Silence is Not God’s Absence
• God Provision is a Person
• God Rewards Those Who Risk
• God Protects and Positions for His Plans

Look at what happens to not just protect Moses, but actually prosper him and prepare him what would lie ahead.

Exodus 2:4-10
And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

What an incredible story. This beautiful baby…this daring mother…this courageous sister…and that child is placed right where Pharoah’s daughter might just stumble upon it.

Jachobed gave up her son…and God gave the boy back to her for a season. And she was even paid to care for him.

Then, this child grew up in the king’s palace, as the son of the princess.

God sovereignly protected and positioned Moses to get where He needed to go…No one knew this at the time, but it demonstrates something we need to know…God is always active.

The Last thing  that I want to make sure to show you is this:  The story of Moses points all of us to the story of Jesus.

As we’ll see, Moses acted as the deliverer of Egypt (spoiler alert)…But his life is intended to point us to the Perfect deliver, the Messiah.

• Just as Moses was placed in a basket, Jesus was placed in a manger.
• Just as Pharaoh threatened to kill Moses, Herod threatened to kill Jesus.
• Just as Moses was the mediator between God and man, Jesus is our perfect mediator who brings us to God.
• Just as Moses gave the 10 Commandments, the Law to the people, Jesus kept the Law for all people who are unable to keep it themselves.
• Just as Moses delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, Jesus delivers us from slavery to sin.

And the grand hero of the grand story of the Bible is Jesus! You see, God’s ultimate Provision is a Person – Jesus, the Christ.

Jesus, the son of God was sent by God to rescue us. He was perfect. He had no sin. And just as Moses would deliver Israel from enslavement in Egypt, Jesus delivers us who call upon him from sin and death and gives everlasting life.

Have you put your faith in Jesus?
A – Admit
B – Believe
C – Confess

Remember, God is always active. Always working. In times of peace, and in places of problems.  Don’t quit, don’t unplug, don’t flee. He’s doing something. Experience Him today.

This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 from our CityRise Church West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!