All tagged miracles
What are the works and miracles that we do in the name of Jesus? Are they greater than those done by Jesus Himself, or are we a disappointment to ourselves, and God? To get at the root of this feeling we must explore our belief, understanding, and ability to pray effectively. When Jesus asked for the cup to be taken from Him in the Garden of Gethsemane do we think He was disappointed when it wasn’t?
If our faith is predicated on understanding God then we will fail at it. God is more than the natural things that we can quantify, classify, and catalog; He is supernatural and until we grasp that fact and immerse ourselves in that reality then we are doomed to never truly knowing Him. We study God’s Word and preach what the Spirit reveals to us, but we can only speak what He has given us, and not from any understanding beyond that.
Not being satisfied that God breathes life into us in our mother’s womb, mankind struggles to know how He makes life happen so that we might somehow consider ourselves to be more, and God to be less. Yet, for all our searching, and striving to be Him, we have been unable to put life into a single creature, much less ourselves. The nearest we have come is to manipulate God’s building blocks, but even so the life within them is His. As believers, are we satisfied with what God has physically made us to be, and are we willing partners in our spirituality; helping to make righteous the intangible character that He desires to perfect within us?
What do we do when we find ourselves far from shore, being beaten by the waves of life, and we can’t make any headway towards safe harbor because the wind is blowing strong against us? We have all experienced times like this, so what did we do? Did we fall to the deck and consider ourselves lost? Did we pull our sails down, get out the oars, and try to row ourselves out of trouble, or did we look out across the churning sea of life for Jesus, as we cried out for spiritual help? If we find ourselves in this situation, and Jesus comes to us, do we recognize him, and if he calls us to come to him in the midst of the gale, will we go?
How often do we ask God to provide us with a way to do something, or to make it possible for us to proceed forward in some endeavor, then wait for Him to clear the way for us? Sometimes it is appropriate to wait on the Lord, but there are times when He tells us to go ahead, and we are reluctant to move, we continue to wait. This occurs when we look at the way ahead and it appears to be blocked… so we simply wait. But, just as it takes faith to patiently wait on God to speak, it also takes faith to step out when He tells us to do something, or go somewhere, and we can’t see the evidence of Him working.
Things are hard for us in life, so what should we do? We are feeling depressed and downtrodden, so where should we turn? We are feeling that our faith is ebbing away, how should we bolster it? All of these are questions that can be answered to our satisfaction by God, and when they are, we need to witness to the world regarding how wonderfully our Lord has been moving in our lives. It is good to tell others that we believe, but providing evidence to them can turn their lives around, and save their souls.
When We ask Jesus for something, we find that if what we are asking of Him is trivial, or something we feel is possible, but perhaps unlikely, then we can easily hand it over to him, and our faith is sufficient to allow us to do that, but can we do this when a real miracle is needed, one in which there is no earthly way that what we are asking could ever occur? If the life of our child is in the balance, we pray, and Jesus says that our son, who is on his deathbed will be healed, can we trust in Him enough to walk away? Can we muster the faith it takes to believe that this will not be the last moment we will see our child? Miracles still occur; let’s listen to what happened in Capernaum.
When we are in need of a miraculous healing, defense, or some other thing that is beyond our ability, we come to the Lord in prayer. We meet Jesus, and ask Him to step into our lives and provide what we need, but do we really believe He can do what we are asking? Jesus will ask us about our faith, and we will most likely say that we believe, but do we really? Are we ready to hand our problem to Him with absolute certainty that He is able to do this?
God watches over His children even when they are unaware. He looks after us whether we are awake and actively praying, or asleep and dreaming about some earthly dread or sweet thing. When we are His, He never lifts His hand from us, and stands vigilant over us... even if we are not conscious of His efforts. So sleep peacefully in His care, and know that He will awaken you in the morrow.
As Christians, which do we find easiest to believe, is it that Jesus will forgive us our sins, or that He will miraculously heal us? This is an interesting question because when our sin is forgiven no one can effectively argue against what they can’t see, but, with a healing miracle all can see and touch the outcome... and arguments against them can ensue. So here is the question today; do you lean most on the spiritual or the physical aspects of your faith, and which brought you to believe?