Hi Friend,
Have you ever noticed in the Bible that when God is about to do a miracle for His people, things get … uncomfortable?
For instance, Abraham and Sarah were sent to wander the desert in their old age before God gave them a son who would begin the Jewish nation; Or later on, when the enslaved Israelites had just endured plagues in Egypt, God parted the Red Sea and had Moses lead them to freedom; And the big one, a young virgin girl became supernaturally pregnant with God’s Son and delivered Him in a stable.
One thing is for sure, while God is the master of creating miracles that change the world, He also isn’t afraid of allowing people to be uncomfortable in the process.
But what if the characters just mentioned had gotten stuck in the uncomfortable part of their story before the miracle happened? What if Abraham had decided to stay comfy cozy in Ur? What if Moses refused to bother Pharaoh or lead the Israelites out of Egypt? What if Mary had told Gabriel she didn’t want to be an unwed mother and please ask someone else?
Sometimes I wonder if there were people who would’ve been in the Bible, but instead, they chose not to put their hope in God and therefore no miracle resulted from their uncomfortable circumstance. Oh, I hope I would never be that person. If you look at each of these Biblical heroes’ lives, they did have to face some great unknowns in order to see God’s miracles take place.
Last week I was reading Matthew 17:22-23 where Jesus tells his disciples for the second time that He will be betrayed and killed, and that on the third day He will be raised to life…(let’s let that sink in, raised to LIFE!) And upon being told this, the disciples were filled with grief.
The disciples are filled with grief because they get stuck on the uncomfortable news that Jesus was going to die. Wouldn’t you think that if a loved one told you that they were going to die and be raised from the dead, you would want to know more about the miraculous ‘being raised to life’ part?! The disciples even had the benefit of knowing that Jesus was God’s Son and seeing Him perform miracles, and yet still miss understanding the miracle that Jesus would be raised to life! Without understanding the miracle that was about to take place, it was sad news indeed, but what an incredible detail to miss!
As we recognize today, Good Friday, the day that Jesus was betrayed and died as a sacrifice to save all people from sin, we can agree with the disciples that Jesus’ death was a grievous moment.
Except, we KNOW that all things are possible with God and that we can have hope that His promises are true! And on this Easter Sunday, we will celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promise and the miracle that Jesus was raised from the dead, He is ALIVE, and we too now can have eternal life because of His sacrifice for us! This is the most joyous miracle of all time!
Today people all over the world are simultaneously facing challenges brought on by this pandemic, and there are many aspects of this time that are uncomfortable, to say the least.
But! … With so many people being affected right now in difficult ways, let’s also recognize that this time is an opportunity for God to affect many people in MIRACULOUS ways! Let’s not get stuck in the uncomfortable parts of this story, but let’s excitedly put our hope in God to fulfill His promises to us and declare His miracles to abound!
Kelly Ehrheart, Salt+Clay Magazine
