"Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends." --George Muller
But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." --Mark 10:27
Some Christians believe that miracles were only something God did in early church times. I disagree. I don't think that God ever quit the miracle business. I think that we are just more unbelieving and less inclined to pay attention to Him, and, at the same time, we are more inclined to seek rational explanations for everything. Well-meaning Christians even try to "prove" the faith to non-believers using scientific data. The problem with such an approach to evangelism is that it misses the point of faith. According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is Biblically defined as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Faith is all about what we can't see or rationalize or prove. That was God's purpose and that is where He is more glorified. If there was scientific data and everyone believed in Him like they believe in gravity, then there would be no value in faith at all and no glory for the God who longs for us to seek Him and believe Him even though we don't see (see John 20:29).
Part of the problem with proof seeking is that it limits God to human understanding. God is too big to fit in our little boxes. In fact, His reign is higher than all our boxes stacked on top of each other and multiplied by 150. Rationalism requires concrete evidence and contain only that which is possible. While God is possible, but He is also more than what is possible by human standards. A focus on the possible hinders the power of our prayer. If we don't believe that God is still a God of the miraculous, we won't ask Him to do what is impossible, and He will not be glorified. Yes, even when we pray small prayers, God may still choose to show Himself in a more powerful and amazing way than we imagined, but He's not as likely to do so as He is when we ask Him to do the impossible.
The other issue with our asking God for the impossible is our motivation. Our society is very self-focused and self-seeking. If we ask God for a miracle with self-focused and self-seeking motivation, He will most certainly not oblige (Mark 8:12). God does not exist for our glory; we exist for God's glory. If we are seeking for God to do the impossible so that we will be proven right or so that our will shall be done, God won't listen to us (James 4:2-3). God does the impossible, like raise week-old corpses from the dead (John 11:38-44), when it will bring Him glory and increase His creation's faith, not when it will bring His creation glory instead of Him.
God's glory comes out of His will being done and His plan being carried out, and sometimes miracles can play a role when we are open to receiving the miracle for what it is--God doing the impossible. God is glorified when we have the faith to believe Him for the impossible even when all we see and hear is the possible. He is still just as much a God of the impossible--i.e., the miraculous--as He was in Biblical times. If we aren't seeing miracles, it's either because we aren't looking for the impossible or because He's patiently waiting for us to look at Him with our hearts of faith instead of our minds of logic.
Posted by Kim at March 15, 2006 09:41 AM