1
comments
Click on a button to share this article
I was reading through the book of Exodus, and started noticing how many miracles God did through Moses. We speak highly of prophets like Elijah and Elisha, but Moses didn’t do too badly for himself. I started making a list:
And these were just in the first 3 months of his leadership. Can you imagine the stories the first generation of free Israelites could tell? They truly depended on God everyday.
It dawned on me that in order to experience the miracles I listed, you would have to have been a slave. There was no other way. Stories of Moses are still being told today, but the only people who can say they witnessed it with their own eyes, were the Israelites who walked out of Egypt with Moses. If you were old enough to remember the miracles you were old enough to be enslaved by the Egyptians.
Maybe you’re like me. You read miraculous stories in the Bible and wonder why you don’t see or experience them more in your life. I think the reason most of us don’t see more miracles is because we don’t need them.
When was the last time you put yourself in a position that without God you would have truly failed or lost everything? Everyone wants to see a miracle, but no one wants to need one.
The children of Israel witnessed 7 plagues because they had been praying for freedom for 400 years.
They saw the Red Sea part, because if it hadn’t, they would have been slaughtered.
They saw water come out of a rock, because if it hadn’t, they would have died of dehydration.
They saw manna fall from Heaven, because if it hadn’t they would have starved to death.
Wow! If most of the things I’m praying for don’t happen it would change my life very little. How sad!
I guess what I’m saying is, go do something that all of your friends will tell you is crazy. Go put yourself in a position to have to completely depend on God or you’ll fail. What are you praying about right now that only God can do?
My Story
Back in November I felt like God kept whispering to me to give my truck away. (I don’t know why preacher stories always have to do with giving away cars, but just hang with me). Of course, I ignored it, assuming it wasn’t God. In December, I found out about a family who needed a vehicle, and when I found out, I felt God clearly tell me it was time, and I knew what to do. I still delayed. After all, my wife and I only have two cars, and she works fulltime. We had also made a commitment to one another that we would never pay a car payment again, so we weren’t going to buy a car. Andrea and I had been talking about how much we would like to have a new minivan since we just had our second kid. On the way to Christmas I was driving and felt like God was telling me to give my truck away and pray for him to provide my family with a van. I hadn’t told Andrea about any of this, but I knew at that point I may want to involve her, because I had no choice but to give it away. Later that night, I was reading through the book of Malachi and in chapter one, God talks about his disappointment for the people due to their lousy sacrifices, and again I felt like God told me not to just give my truck to the family, but to put new tires on it and get it detailed. I was supposed to do everything I could to make it feel brand new. I must admit, as excited as I was to obey God, buying tires for a car you aren’t keeping is really frustrating.
A few weeks later, we gave the truck away and began praying that God would give us a new van. Being the expert prayer that I am, I foolishly tried to put God on a schedule and told him I needed it by January 17, because Andrea would be returning to work. Well it’s February 10, and we still don’t have the van. Every morning I wake up a little before six, get the kids up, and load them in the car while Andrea get’s ready. We drive to her school about 20 minutes away (on the bright side there is a Chick-Fila on the way) and pick her up afterwards. It’s fun obeying God, but honestly it’s not fun waking up before six to take your wife to work. It’s fun telling people about hearing God speak to you. It’s fun being able to help a family who’s in need. It’s fun to have God keep stretching your growing, but it’s no fun to need a miracle. Yet time and time again, God continues to prove himself.
What’s going to be fun is taking a picture of the miracle God’s going to provide and texting it to all the people who said we were crazy for praying for it.
Go do something crazy. Go pray for a miracle. Go pray for something that will never happen without God.
About the author
Jason is the Teaching Pastor at River City Worship Center in Louisville KY, and owns a web development company Jbirdmedia. He wanted all boys until he had his daughter Sadie and now he wants 4 girls. You can follow him on twitter @jasonisaacs
The movement of God is always forward. We have been made to soar and to embrace our future as God sees it. Forwardleadership is designed to engage leaders who have tomorrow in their hearts. Thank you for visiting.
by
Interestingly I was telling this story this afternoon. I have been praying daily for your car and today I have been thanking Him for a car. Keep me posted
Post a Comment
We would love to have you join in the discussion with us. All you have to do is connect your facebook account. Simply click the "Connect w/ Facebook" button above to get started. If you have any trouble you can send me an email.