An Oft-Overlooked Nature of God

Then said Jesus unto him, “Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” – John 4:48

Have you ever wondered why Jesus didn’t appear to any of the elders, chief priests and scribes after His resurrection? Think about it; that would have been a perfect witness and end to all arguments, wouldn’t it? Instead, he appeared to His disciples and followers: people who already believed in Him!

This is an oft-overlooked nature of God that we believers sometimes forget: the primary way of dealing with God is by faith; God does not try to impress people; Heb 1:6 says whoever comes to God must “believe…”.

Does God perform miracles?  Absolutely! Does the Christian life entail manifestations of the supernatural? Most certainly! But notice that Mark 16:20 says that the “signs” in the early Church were “following” the Believers, not the other way round. A “Believer” who goes around seeking for the supernatural is like a trained soldier who’s thrilled by the sound of fireworks.

God may in His sovereignty, come down to the level of an unbeliever with signs; but if after salvation that Believer refuses to be satisfied with His Word alone, something has definitely gone wrong.

Jesus stopped Paul on the road to Damascus with blinding light and a loud voice; but the same “Spirit of Jesus” didn’t have to use theatrics to stop the same Paul from going to Bithynia after his salvation; He just did not “let” Him.  (Acts 9:3; 16:7)

Beloved, your life is already full of miracles; acting like other super saints have all the fun while your life is just humdrum and unexciting is both a sign of spiritual insensitivity to God’s preferred way of dealing with you and also an act of ingratitude.

 “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6; your life is already supernatural by definition. Everything you do is supernatural, live with that understanding.

And here’s the irony of it all, Jesus said “these signs shall follow THEM THAT BELIEVE…” (Mar 16:17). So when you decide to live your life as a Believe-er, the signs of the supernatural will start following you without your permission, imploration or begging.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

Greg Elkan