Have you ever
seen God do an amazing miracle? At another time, did you pray for a miracle and
then were disappointed that He didn’t step in and perform in an amazing way
like in the past?
God displays
His power to accomplish His purposes. We aren’t God and we don’t see the big
picture. When God parted the Red Sea, He did so to show the Israelites and the
Egyptians He was fighting for Israel
(Exodus 14). When God parted the Jordan, He did it to display His power to the new generation of
Israelites and to all the Canaanites living along the Jordan.
Joshua
3:14-17 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the
priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all
during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the
Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped
flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called
Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the
Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite
Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry
ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed
the crossing on dry ground…
Joshua
4:24 He [the Lord] did this so that all the
peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.
The
town of Adam is a long way from Jericho. I didn’t realize until recently how
many people (besides all the Israelites) would have witnessed God’s power to
stop the Jordan River!!! He usually has numerous reasons for displaying His power
through miracles.
In
looking back over the miracles you have witnessed, think about all the
different reasons God may have chosen to work in a might way. Let’s remember
those times so we will continue to fear the Lord and trust in His power, even
when He doesn’t work when and how we would like in a current situation. He’s
God and we are not! His power is displayed to accomplish His purposes, not my
whims and wishes.
Alice