"It Would Take a Miracle"

“How big is your God?” This question was posed to me by a colleague while we were discussing a topic that held great importance to both of us and on which unity was of the utmost importance. Agreement was elusive and it seemed as though negotiations were going to break down. Before all was lost, however, we found that we could agree on an answer to this question – He is big enough to cause us to agree – so we determined to leave our respective positions with the Most High and to continue our discussion, if necessary, at a future date. I remember thinking, “It would take a miracle…” But over the course of the next six months, I found such a miracle taking place, as God changed my perspective of the issue and cause me to alter my position on the topic. So, in the end, not only was all not lost, but unity was restored and God’s omnipotence was vindicated.

While I’m sure nearly all of us would affirm that God is capable of performing whatever He deems necessary, I imagine that many of us do not live in such a way as to expect the miraculous on a daily basis. And for good reason: we live in an age of such technological advancement as to make our perceived capabilities seem nearly endless. So what need have we of any contravention of the natural order? Furthermore, we live in a culture where science, being synonymous with rationality and logic, is granted the final word; it thereby presumes to be the external standard by which all that we perceive is judged to be real, or valid. Events that are unexplainable, or seem unnatural, are discounted, dismissed, and certainly not sought after.

But Jesus said in John 14:12 that those who believe in Him will perform even greater works than those observed by the disciples and Jesus’ first century audience. Even greater works than those performed by Jesus? Although this seems to be too magnificent to contemplate, it may be worth examining our experience in light of this plumb line. If Him to whom all authority has been granted dwells inside of us, should we not see evidence of His power in our experience? Shouldn’t we see miracles – from transformed lives and physical healing to timely provision and weather events – on a frequent basis? Indeed, shouldn’t we expect to see these things?

There are a number of ways of discounting the implications of this discrepancy between what Jesus said was possible and what many of us experience. Many Christians simply believe that God does not perform any miracles anymore. After all, it is much easier to assume that God has decided not to demonstrate His power in miraculous ways than to explore the possibility that my faith is too lazy, or timid. A similar thesis – increasingly popular in the Western Church – is that we do not see miracles very often because we don’t need them. This is a dangerous assertion and one that implies, if taken to its logical conclusion, that our faith has somehow “arrived” and that we are no longer in need of God’s supernatural assistance. Additionally, we can become so comfortable with our construct of what the Christian experience is supposed to be like – an upward slog characterized by barely perceptible sanctification and the illusion of struggle – that we fail to look for, much less believe for, the miraculous.

I believe that God has much more in store for us than lives limited to the natural. A truly abundant life should include encounters with the supernatural, and often enough to keep our faith vibrant, our testimony strong, and the glory of God foremost in our minds. Is your God big enough to do these things? Mine has certainly demonstrated a sizeable track record, and I trust that we’ll each be inspired to look “to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine,” and see His power turning our world upside down (Acts 17:6).