By James Wilson
(Part 3 of 3)
Miracles are
nothing more – and nothing less – than incidents of God’s intervention in our
lives. The reality that our hearts
continue to beat is no less miraculous than a limb growing out or a cancer
being cancelled – unless we really believe a heartbeat is an involuntary
muscular activity. Somebody volunteers.
The message of
Romans 8:28 that God works all things together for good in those who love Him
and are called according to His purposes is simply His declaration that He is a
chronic interventionist. The miracles in
this narrative of the capitol prayer bridge journey are not primarily for my
benefit, although I praise Him for taking care of me in the way that He
has. Has He repaired a heart in which
the bypasses were detaching sans medical care through my prayers? Did He restore the ligaments in a knee in one
person and realign a spinal column in another as I worshipped with others? Did a woman discover her ancient sins really
are forgiven as I laid hands on and blessed her? God does not love me any more passionately
than He loves every human being He has created and to whom He is calling in
this season of His special favor. These
stories are told and these incidents are occurring to waken everyone reading
them to the authority God placed in us through baptism and commitment to the
Lordship of Jesus. We are the people who
love God and are called according to His purposes. He doesn’t care whether we are charismatic,
evangelical, or mainline; He cares passionately that we confess with our lips,
believe in our hearts, and struggle to match behavior to belief.
And to any
reader who has not yet made such a commitment, what are you waiting for?
To any who has talked the talk but is not walking the walk in its
fullness…rise, take up your pallet and walk.
The time of paralysis is past.
Washington was
the last state I visited. There I had
the opportunity to teach in some depth on the theme, “For Such a Time as This.” I shared the reality of the Wild Horse
Nebula, a cluster of stars and dark matter thirty million light years from
earth. This nebula is so distant it was
undiscovered until the Hubble Telescope was placed in orbit. In the heart of this celestial body is a
black hole several million miles across. That hole is shaped like a cross – the
Cross – and we become aware of it only in this century. Does not the Scripture (Psalms 19:1) say,
“The heavens declare the glory of God.”
Laminim is a
protein molecule so tiny it can only be seen beneath an electron microscope –
an invention of the past half century.
It is what is known as an adhesion protein; its function is literally to
hold the human body together, joining bone to muscle, skin to flesh, enzymes to
organs. It too is shaped like a cross –
the Cross – and we discover it only now.
Does not the Scripture (Col. 1:17) say, “In Him all things hold
together.”
Had the Hubble
been invented a few thousand years earlier we would not know of the Wild Horse
– the universe would not have expanded enough to provide sufficient contrast
between light and dark materials for viewing.
A few millennia later and the nebula would be too distant even for the
Hubble to pick it out of the cosmos.
Reality is we were born for such a time as this – a time of
unprecedented opportunity and equally unprecedented challenge.
The last half
century has featured more documented miracles and decisions to live for Jesus
Christ than all previous seasons combined – including the explosion of faith we
call the First Century; the Lord has put it on steroids in the last half
decade. We live in a time of darkness
not seen since the world began, a time of wars and rumors of war; men calling
evil good and good evil; a time of Christians being hated for the name of
Christ we bear. And we are nowhere – in
scripture or the template of history – promised anything but a shortening of
the suffering that accompanies the birth pangs of the Kingdom. Yet when we undertake a journey in obedience
– as I did – even a lost cell phone charger is replaced by way of gift
(Wyoming) and the tires my mechanic said would need rotating and replacement
when I left were found to be without defect when I returned – fifty-two hundred
miles later. He really does work it all
together for good before the fat lady sings.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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