Waiting for the Miraculous ....

In Genesis 1, we read about God’s supernatural creation of the heavens and Earth. In the four gospels, we see that God the Father sends His Son, Jesus, to Earth. And, during Jesus’ earthly ministry, we read that He performed many miracles. Among those miracles are that He gave the blind sight (Matthew 9:27-31), the deaf the ability to hear (Mark 7:31-37), supernaturally walked on water (Mark 6:45-52) and fed a hungry crowd of 5,000 men from five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:30-44). Today, born again believers may ask how the disciples and others who heard Jesus' teachings and witnessed His miracles could have doubted that He would rise again three days after being crucified. After all, Jesus taught them repeatedly this would occur (Luke 9:22, Matthew 17:21-23, Mark 8:31). However, we must not judge those who lived before us because, despite the biblical teaching that we receive and our exposure to God's word, we also doubt during difficult and dark times. By reading Luke 23 and 24, we see several people or groups within the Easter story who were faith-strugglers that later became faith champions. They are as follows: 

● A Roman soldier embodies a hard agnostic who comes face to face with Jesus and  believes.
● Joseph of Arimathea, the secret disciple represents those who are faithful to Jesus.
● The disciples illustrate the person desiring to trust but struggling to believe Jesus.
● The women who came to the tomb portray sincere, but forgetful Jesus-followers.
● Peter epitomizes the person who will not believe until they see it for themselves.

There are three circumstances that cripple people from trusting God. They are 1) When God’s power seems absent, 2) When God’s promises seem broken and 3) When God’s plan seems defeated. Undoubtedly, even though Jesus had taught them otherwise, the disciples and the women struggled to believe that Jesus would rise again. Why? Because In this very dark situation,  the death of Jesus looked final, the tomb looked sealed and all hope was strangled.  Likewise, believers today also doubt God’s faithfulness when prayers go unanswered, His trustworthiness when suffering is extreme or unending and His good plans for us when our experiences and our beliefs do not align. Friend, can you see yourself in this story? Have you prayed for healing, yet God seems absent? Have you stood on promises from Scripture, yet they seem broken? Have you tried to live faithfully and the plan seems defeated. The obvious answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes! 

So, how should we respond when we doubt? As this passage from Luke teaches us, we must do three things. 1) Rehearse God’s Words 2) Retell the resurrection story And, 3) Worship the God who brings life from death. Within this passage, we see all three responses recorded. On the first occasion, the angels reminded the women what Jesus had taught them (Luke 24:5-8). On the second occasion, Jesus Himself taught them that the first five books of the Bible and the prophets all point to Him suffering, dying and being resurrected (Luke 24:25-27). On the third occasion, Jesus Himself said that He will suffer, die and rise from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:44-46).  Christian, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. You and I cannot create faith. It is no accident that these disciples' faith was revived as the Scriptures were explained. Our faith is also strengthened by retelling the resurrection story (Luke 24:9; 31-35, 46-48). Jesus did not just tell the disciples; He commissioned them to testify. Faith is not meant to be passively received; it's meant to be actively proclaimed. When you serve, teach, share your story, or disciple someone, you are deepening your trust in the God who called you to speak. Finally, we must worship the God who brings life from death. The disciples worship is rooted in God’s faithfulness to resurrect Jesus from the grave (Luke 24:50-52). As Christ followers today, we need weekly worship because we need need a weekly rehearsal of God’s faithfulness to His word and to His people. Brothers and sisters, are you rehearsing God’s words daily, retelling the resurrection story to yourself and others consistently and regularly worshiping the God who brings life from death? And, if you have not yet trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, will you do so today so that you, too, can experience this life changing faith?... 

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