Special Sunday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
Does God still work miracles? Does he still intercede with supernatural occurrences, or does he just let things in the world pan out naturally? Spoiler alert: he still intercedes. Truth be told, the Bible makes it really hard to argue otherwise.
God is sovereign, and he is all-powerful, and he is still active. He is still always working miracles to remind those who believe in him of this. The kingdom of Israel has been far from God and seeking help from other gods for a long time. But once Jehoshaphat king of Judah reminds Joram king of Israel to rely on the Lord, God welcomes him back with a reminder of who he has always been. Sometimes God directs natural processes to achieve his purposes, and other times he makes what seems impossible happen. But in either case, his glory is clearly shown, and everyone who sees it is reminded that he is the sole ruler of the cosmos.
The armies of Israel and Judah were parched in a dry land, and God brought them water. They were up against a force of Moabites too strong for them, and in a way they didn’t expect, that same water threw the Moabites into confusion and allowed them to be defeated. As Elisha said, this is an easy thing for God! How often do we subconsciously believe good things to be impossible, as if they’re too hard for God? Jesus says that if we ask, there is no good thing God can’t give. There is wisdom in being skeptical of big shows of so-called divine miracles, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t still work elsewhere. He delights in blessing those whose faith is in him. Is our faith in him and him alone?
