When I think about the great accounts of God's miracles, I wonder how the people who were the witnesses to those life-changing miracles must feel or have felt, and then I wish I was one of them. It sure is something to see God make something out of nothing, to watch Him come through when all hope was lost. Yet, amidst my anticipation, I sometimes forget a crucial aspect: every miracle is preceded by a significant setup.
For the woman who was healed upon touching Jesus’ garment, her setup was the bleeding malady she endured for twelve years. The disciples' setup was the raging storms that threatened to engulf them, testing their faith to its limits. For Abraham and Sarah, it was decades of barrenness that preceded Isaac's miraculous birth. And for Lazarus and his sisters, the setup was Lazarus’ death and burial.
The list goes on, and the pattern isn’t hard to find. The impossible (to men anyway) precedes God’s miraculous intervention. We yearn to echo Job’s declaration, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5) but often fail to recognize that the full package includes a tight situation before God makes a way.
If we want to testify that we’ve seen God resurrect something or someone (yes, someone!) in our lives, we better (and hopefully sooner than later) realize that death precedes resurrection.
When Jesus arrived in Bethany after Lazarus’ passing, Martha and Mary said, “If you had been here, [Lazarus] would not have died” (John 11:21). They understood that Lazarus might have lived, had something been done earlier. But, it's not really over until God declares it is! Lazarus would walk out of that grave as soon as Jesus called his name. Aah... this God!! I’m telling you!!
So, to anyone currently feeling pressed, crushed, or perplexed, know this: you are not forgotten, not by El Roi, "The God who sees you." He sees us in our struggles, and He will come through for us right on time. But to witness His mighty moves, we must hold on like Abraham, about whom the Bible says,
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised (Rom 4:20-21).
The setup is necessary. On our part anyway. Oh yeah, that’s another thing. God, being almighty doesn’t need to accumulate power to do miracles. Everything He does, grand or seemingly small, He does so effortlessly. But as for us, everything and everyone we ever trusted in must be stripped away, so that when God moves, we won’t credit it to our knowledge, connections, wealth, and more.
So the next time you and I are pressed against the wall and it looks like what we have on our hands is nothing but a major letdown, remember that it might just be a divine setup. Weakness, emptiness, and desperation are fertile ground for the mighty move of God.
Let this give us endless hope, for it means God is never late. He doesn't need years to heal a decades-old cancer or to mend a relationship that's been crumbling for years. With a single word, He can make all wrongs right instantly. So hold on, dear friend, for His timing is perfect, and His power knows no bounds.
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