If you want miraculous, if you want powerful, there’s no one like Jesus. All you need is Jesus.
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SHAUNA: I’m Shauna, with Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Thank you for joining us. Hey Joni, I’m interested. What are your thoughts on the miraculous?
JONI: Well, Shauna as you probably know, Ken and I are in the middle of reading through the Bible in a year. And I always marvel at the miraculous things God has done, especially in the Old Testament. Parting the Red Sea, making the sun stand still, drawing water out of solid rock, and enabling a guy named Shamgar to single-handedly slaughter six hundred bad guys with a cattle prod. But nowadays, we don’t encounter many donkeys that talk, nor do we see ax heads floating on the water. And so, you’ve got to wonder – is God serving up something less than miraculous if, in this present age, he reveals himself through a book [that is, the Bible] rather than a voice in the cloud, or a pillar of fire, or a column of smoke? We might be tempted to think that God’s power has lessened, or is covered up, or shielded as it were; we might think that, well, the words printed on a page [even if the words are in the Bible], are not as powerful, or even as miraculous. But stop right there. Don’t even think that’s the reality.
The way that God has revealed himself in our present age is a thousand times more powerful, more miraculous. Because nothing; absolutely nothing can top God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ. I mean, it’s like pouring the ocean into a 16-ounce glass. And there’s more to this miracle. The God of all-consuming fire on Mt. Sinai, has revealed himself in the present age as the God of mercy on Mt. Calvary. Jesus Christ who [according to Philippians 2] “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” The parting of the Red Sea pales in comparison to Christ walking out of his grave as the victor over sin and death. And just look at what that means for us – absolutely every benefit of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Every benefit [from our salvation to the sending of the Holy Spirit], all of it is an astounding miracle. All of it is a miraculous gift from God to us. Oh, friend, we have “the riches of his grace which he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding,” according to Ephesians.
Unlike God’s people in the Old Testament, we know the mystery of his will through his gospel. No longer dead in our sins, we are a new type of human, a new creation in whom the spirit of God dwells. Nothing that the greatest prophet in the Old Testament ever did can be compared to that. We have citizenship in heaven. Escape from hell. We’re blessed with every spiritual blessing. We’ve got the gift of prayer as our direct access to God, as well as guidance and comfort through the Bible. This is good news that provides a banquet of blessings not to be nibbled at, but to be feasted upon. And so, don’t think you need to see a donkey talk or an ax head float, or the sun to stand still, or the Red Sea to part in order to be impressed with the God of the Bible and what he can do. All you need is Jesus. The one who created everything, who carries around the universe in his pocket; Jesus, who upholds absolutely everything by the power of his word. Jesus who loves you. Who suffered for you. Gave his life for you. Guides and comforts you through his spirit, and so much more. Hey, if we want the miraculous, if we want powerful, there’s no one like Jesus. And these are your powerful words of hope for the day.
© Joni and Friends