Annuit Coeptis

Take a one dollar bill and look at the back of it. Do you see the pyramid on the left, with the eye above it? Look at the Latin words bove that eye – “Annuit Coeptis.” Do you know what those words mean? “Our endeavors are favored.” That’s the meaning – our endeavors are favored! Favored by whom? You know who – God, of course!

The word favor is a synonym for the word “grace.” There, right on the back of every dollar bill you handle every day of your life is a message reminding you that your endeavors are favored by God. What could possibly be a more appropriate symbol for our daily lifestyle than a one dollar bill? A day hardly passes that we don’t handle one. Every time you do, your Father is saying to you, “My grace is upon you.” Every time you touch a dollar bill, why not affirm the truth, “My Father’s favor is on me.”"

It's amazing how many ways our Father will speak to us when we get out of the religious box that most of us have lived in for so long. He really does speak in a multitude of ways, and often not with a churchy dialect.

The enemy wants us to think that the only way we can hear the voice of God is when it comes to us through a religious means. How sad when we fall for that lie. Our Father uses the whole world as His pulpit. He declares His love for us in many ways every day, even through a simple dollar bill.

Do you want to expand your capacity to hear the voice of God? Ask Him to make you aware of the ways He whispers His love to you in the routine circumstances and events of your day. Then don’t be surprised when you hear Him in ways you’ve never even thought of hearing Him before – through music, movies, art, nature, hobbies, sports – you name it.

One person wrote me and asked, “Are you saying that God speaks to us outside the Bible?” My answer is, “yes.” He will never speak to us in a way that contradicts the Bible, but He certainly speaks at times other than we are reading Scripture. How many times have you heard the Lord speak through a sermon, a choir anthem, a book written by a Christian? Many times, of course.

What I’m challenging you to do is realize that our Father’s voice extends beyond the religious and into your regular daily lifestyle. Listen for His voice assuring you, “Your efforts are blessed. Your lifestyle is favored.” That’s what He wants us to know and He is willing to tell us that truth a thousand times a day if need be.