For with God

It's that time of year. A time of anticipation, expectation, wonder, longing and pondering. A time when many Christians remember, celebrate and sing about the familiar story of the miraculous conception and wondrous birth of Jesus, God with us. I wonder how many of us have pondered what it would have been like to be Mary or Joseph - what would have been swirling through their hearts and minds and in the minds of those who knew them, or knew of their situation. Can you imagine or empathize? Can you imagine going through a pregnancy without modern medicine? Can you imagine all of the unknowns and hardship? Would you have believed? Would you have rejoiced in God?

Can you imagine if their situation was shared in the same way news spreads today all over social media? Can you imagine the headlines, speculations and presumptions? What controversy. What scandal. What foolishness. What danger. I believe some things, or many things, for various reasons or seasons, are better shared wisely with only a few. Isn't it so comforting to have a few people in your life in which you can share things with such as this? May we not be too quick to share everything we know, or think we know. Slow to speak or react - giving space for God through manifold means to guide and give wisdom. Still, what an encouragement and source of affirmation and consolation Elizabeth must have been to Mary, just as the angel was to Joseph when it appeared to him in a dream… The visitations. The wisdom. The gifts. The signs and wonders…

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Do angels still appear today - plainly or disguised, in dreams, or as messengers or ministering spirits? Do wise people still visit and offer us their gifts? Is there anyone wise among us? Are there messengers and ministers among us? Would we even notice, recognize or pause to consider and appreciate?

Do miracles still happen today? The kind that can't be understood or explained? The kind that completely baffles our logical minds and causes us to consider all the possible rational explanations, apart from divine intervention? The kind that makes you question, "how can this be... is this for real?" The kind that can only be traced back to the soul-piercing words of Gabriel, "For with God, nothing is impossible." Do we really believe that? I think most of us have a hard time believing when our eyes can't see evidence of it; when disappointments, fear or logic drown our faith and cloud our vision; when we are bombarded, distracted, confused and concerned about many other things; when we don't get what we were wishing and praying for; or when it looks different than what we were expecting.  

Why are we downcast, why are we troubled, why are we slow to believe, and why do doubts arise in our minds? These are the same kinds of questions Jesus presented to the disciples after His resurrection. Too often I think we are like Thomas - unless we see it or touch it, we will not believe. If God would only send us a sign... am I right? Like an angel, or dream, or answered prayer. But would that even be enough for us? What more would we need? What more do we need now? 

Unless it happens in our way and in our time, we will struggle. When storms come, we will waver. We will doubt. We will question. We will wrestle with what we have heard, what we are hearing, or what we thought we knew. We would rather hold onto something that can be finitely understood or explained or seen or touched. Unless something is challenged, tested or removed (such as our beliefs and values or security and comforts), we will trudge through life without much growth or godly wisdom. Our faith which must be built upon truth and grace found in Christ, however absent, small, or immature it might be, will remain as it is or be shipwrecked altogether.

At times, perhaps God will provide us with something we can see and touch as a means to affirm our faith and give us comfort, encouragement or guidance, just as He did for Thomas and Mary and Joseph and countless others. Other times, we come to a place in which our faith will only grow by not seeing or touching, but by it being tested and forged through the fire like gold as a means to prove it genuine and to develop perseverance. Perseverance then develops our character and produces an assurance of salvation by grace through faith, anchored in hope that does not disappoint. 

This is hard. This I know. But I believe that this kind of believing and persevering can produce a genuine, grounded faith and a divine, delightful peace that surpasses understanding. The kind of peace that causes people to watch us and ask us the reason for our hope. How can it be? From where does your help come from?

To me, there are valuable things that can be seen and touched, but the most valuable things often cannot be fully grasped. Precious things such as mercy, grace, forgiveness, faith, hope, love, wonder, joy, peace, prudence, wisdom from above, integrity, sincerity, sovereignty, justice, righteousness, and vengeance and vindication that belong to our God and yes, even miracles and ministering spirits. Spiritual and unconventional things such as these just don't often make sense in a world such as ours and can't be explained in a way that would appease our finite minds.

Miracles, messengers and ministering spirits may not look exactly the same as the ones we see and read about in the Bible, or it may, it could. It could be something of old, or something new, at least new to us. For I can't fathom the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. Neither can I deny nor discredit the possibility and present-day occurrence of such experiences, encounters, empowerment or encouragement. For with God, all things are possible - both then, and now. I stand amazed, at times, astounded or speechless, in awe. Yet, if God was not amazing and full of awe, what kind of God would He be?

“Blessed are they that believe without seeing.”

Grace and peace ~
SS

Luke 1-2; Matthew 1-2; John 20; Luke 24; James 1,3; 1Pet 1; Rom 5, 8; 2Pet 1; 1Cor 1-2