by Carolus Taylor
Recently a Christian lady shared with me about a personal struggle that she was going through. Then, she asked me an interesting question: “When do I stop believing God for a miracle?” I told her that I thought a more appropriate and accurate question might be, “When do I start believing God for a miracle?”
The cultural propensity to “name it, claim it” and “just tell God to bless us with whatever we want”, is to claim a miracle from God when God has not spoken. The advocates of this shortsightedness tend to employ Mark 11: 22-24 (“...whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”v. 24b, NIV) as a scriptural carte blanche for what we interpret as our personal miracle. Thus, I can speak my miracle into existence! I said it with my mouth, I believe it in my heart then I must receive it!
But instead of us trying to make God do something for us in response to our every whim and whimper, perhaps the more accurate way that we should think about miracles is to start believing God for a miracle when God says God is going to perform a miracle. Is there any place in the Bible where the God of the universe relinquishes ultimate sovereignty to us? Does faith give us the right to give directives to the omnipotent, omniscient God?
It seems to me that faith—however feeble or strong, should lead us to completely trust in God. We trust whatever God wants to do, whenever God wants to do it, and however God chooses to do it. This means that in sickness and in health, we trust God; in good times and in bad times, we trust God. When the storm is raging or when the sea of life is calm, we put our trust in God. But the patience of our suffering teaches us that we are ill-prepared to determine our own destiny, and that God is sovereign.
In this light, God’s sovereignty means that there are no experiences in life of which God is not aware. Nothing happens to us that surprises God. God is in control, and must have a plan and purpose for God’s will in our lives. The wisdom of faith does not always focus on what God delivers us from, but on how God’s sovereignty keeps and sustains us in the midst of hard times (and good times). Thus, it is foolish to claim a miracle when God has not spoken. We can only with surety, claim what God says God is going to do.
Rather than teaching people to claim miracles or proclaim miracles, clergy must first and foremost encourage parishioners to accept and live under the sovereignty of God. This is not to suggest we should not believe God to do miracles; indeed, God is a miracle worker. What I am suggesting is that we learn to believe God, and to understand scripture within its context. The miracle is in the hand of God.
Several years ago, I visited a ten year old girl who was hospitalized with hepatitis. I spent a Friday evening at the hospital with her family, and throughout the weekend we fervently prayed, and anointed the child with oil. Some family members even spoke in tongues as they prayed for the child’s healing. I went to the church, laid before the altar, cried, and called out every Bible verse I knew about healing. On Sunday night, the child died. I was crushed, angry, and disappointed with God. I asked, “God—how is it when we really believe you are going to do something, you don’t do it?”
Then I remembered that it was not a matter of faith or believing; it was the sovereign will of God that ultimately reigned supreme.
Carolus Taylor is the Senior Pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Miracles and the Sovereignty of God: Who’s In Charge?
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2 comments:
I too believe that we as a body of Christians, who call ourselves "Believers" have lost sight of what we should believe. Many teach and have taught that we should believe that God will answer all that we pray for in the fashion that we pray for it to be answered. We have been led to "believe" that fervent pray will bring us "Life more abundantly" and that we by our prayers have a "right" to define what abundant life is. Our spiritually leaders and even we who are spiritual teachers and leaders have failed to mention or maybe we have forgotten what is given to us in Hebrews 13:5-- In short "be content". Not content just with material things but also with life circumstances because God indeed has a plan for our lives. When we "believe" in God and his plan for us through Jesus Christ, then we know that the "miracle" is that God loves us enough to plan our lives so that we can receive what we need to grow spiritually through the storms and the rain until we finally receive spiritual maturity in Christ. Jesus died that we might live. Sometimes rain must fall so that seeds might grow.
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him"
Do I believe in miracles? Yes, but most of all I "Believe" in God.
When we say that our God is a Sovereign God,that means He has full power and authority over our lives. But the fact of the matter is that we have in some cases taught our members that God will do what ever we ask of Him no matter what it is. Failing to realize that God holds the last say so in our lives and not we ourselves. For it is God that has made us and we ourselves. So it is He who knows what is best for us and if we allow God to trully lead us we would never go wrong.
Recently my mother-in-law passed away and the family was distort. One night while praying for her I prayed that God would take her and not allow her or the family to suffer any longer. When I prayed this pray my thoughts were on my wife and my mother-in-law. For I could see the pain in them as well as others and it is my belief that He did what was best in His eyes for all that were involved. I believe that God in His Sovereign Power did His will in His way and in His time.
It imperative of that those of us who teach and lead House of Faith that we teach that God is Sovereign and not a God that can be but in a box.
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