miracles – but love is there, hovering over my soul

“Then Jesus looked him in the eyes and said, ‘Go back home now. I promise you, your son will live and not die.’ The man believed in his heart the words of Jesus and set off for home.” John 4:50 (TPT)

A frantic father asks Jesus to heal his dying son. Jesus puts him off with, “Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle, you refuse to believe.” (John 4:48) That sounds like an incredibly harsh response to me. Was this father truly wanting only to be titillated by a fantastic miracle, or was he desperately wanting to save his son’s life? As a parent, I’m guessing the latter to be true. Why would it be wrong for the father to come to Jesus for help? I confess that I find Jesus’ initial response to be frustrating, but his second response gives the father an opportunity to reveal what faith he does or does not possess. When Jesus assures the father that his son will live, the father chooses to take Jesus at his word and believe it. Then he acts upon what he believes by heading home without seeing any proof that what Jesus has said is true. To the father’s delight, he is met along the road by one of his servants telling him that his son’s illness broke the day before at the very hour that Jesus said that he would live. Unbounded relief and joy at his son’s return to health aside, this father must also have felt the sense of satisfaction that comes from proving your faith: to Jesus, to yourself, and to others. This story ends by telling us that the father’s entire household also believed in Jesus as a result of the father’s retelling of his own faith journey the day before.

Sometimes we believe within our mind, but it hasn’t yet worked its way down into our heart. Perhaps that was the case with this father – when he approached Jesus with his request, he believed in his mind that Jesus could heal his son. Jesus’ first response may have been meant to take this man even deeper in the belief that he already possessed. It must have worked because after looking in Jesus’ eyes and hearing Jesus’ words of assurance, the father believed in his heart as well as in his mind. As a result, many miracles occurred that day: the healing of the son, the deepening of the father’s faith, and the beginning of each member of his household’s believing faith in Jesus. No wonder the father was overjoyed!

There are so many levels, so many dimensions to our faith, our life and our being. Miracles are never one-dimensional; they are always multi-dimensional. Don’t just look for one miracle, look for and expect multiple miracles within what appears to be just one.

I hear God say to me, “I, the LORD, am multi-dimensional, and I work in ALL dimensions at once!”

Amen!

“But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” John 11:22 (NIV)

Martha is speaking to Jesus. She and her sister, Mary, have just lost their brother, Lazarus, who died four days earlier. The unmarried sisters lived with their brother, and they all shared an intimate friendship with Jesus. It appears that Martha has long filled the “mother” role: anticipating and perceiving needs, reviewing available resources, discerning what else must be acquired, completing tasks and getting the job done. Perhaps Martha is doing that now regarding her and her sister’s future. These sisters live in a time and place where women are poorly valued; without an adult male to be aligned with, they are at the mercy of those who might be convinced to care and completely vulnerable to anyone who wants to take advantage of them. Living with their brother provided Martha and Mary with the status, respect and protection they needed to survive, and now he is gone. Martha has always believed that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of God . . . but now? In her loss and grief, when all status, provision and protection have been stripped from her and her sister, even now she knows that God will give Jesus whatever he asks for. She is trusting and expecting that her dear friend and Messiah, Jesus, will ask God to provide for her needs, today and always. An old word, not much heard today, comes to mind: stalwart. Martha’s faith in Jesus is stalwart, impressively so. She is believing in Jesus for a miracle! Martha listens as Jesus begins to speak of resurrection, fully believing that Lazarus will be resurrected at the end of time. She doesn’t begin to imagine that Lazarus will be resurrected before the end; being a human creature of earth, why would she? But she does have a miracle in mind. Perhaps, after so many years of being single, God will now provide good husbands for Martha and Mary; after all, alignment with a good man is what they have both lost and what they could both use now. Is marriage the miracle that she is expecting? Jesus tells her that he is resurrection and life now, and he asks her, “Do you believe this?” Martha responds to Jesus’ question in the affirmative, and then she runs to tell Mary that Jesus is here and asking for her.

I am so impressed with Martha. She is a person who knows how to get the job done, yet she doesn’t rely upon herself to provide for herself and her sister—this she leaves in the good and capable hands of Jesus. In her severe pain, her belief in Jesus has not wavered. I suspect that she’s simply believing in Jesus for a different miracle than the one he already plans to perform on her behalf. I laugh with joy and excitement as I anticipate what is coming her way, and I wish I could be there to witness the experience!

As for me, I am currently experiencing circumstances that are causing me great pain. I feel confused, disappointed, angry, helpless, fearful and heartbroken. And I hear Jesus asking me the same thing that he asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” I want to believe in Jesus for a miracle. I am willing to believe in Jesus for a miracle. I am trying to believe in Jesus for a miracle. I am asking Jesus for a miracle. Like Martha, I do have a miracle in mind, but I am beginning to realize that Jesus may already have a different miracle planned. As I sit with this, I hear Jesus say to me:

“My beloved child, I know that you believe in me. I know all that you believe, and your belief brings me great joy! However, there is so much more that you do not know and have not yet experienced. Therefore, there is still so much more that you have yet to believe. Do not be discouraged when I ask you, “Do you believe this?” I am simply introducing you to more and deeper knowledge and experience of myself, and I will ask you to believe more and deeper each step along the way. Just like Martha, your faith is strong and you are well on your way! Follow me. Your adventure with me has just begun!”

Ok! Amen!