Living for Manifestation

Christians in certain circles and with certain backgrounds get a bad rap for seeking the 'manifest' Presence of God. You might hear things like: they just want a sign. Or, they're just thriving on emotionalism!

God's Presence is amazing in all the uncountable ways He may choose to reveal Himself to us. His Presence is something to desire - whether physically manifested or not! But we should not be living for His physical manifestation. We should not allow ourselves to get into a funk whenever He chooses not to blow us away in some manner or another. It just might be that our tendency to fall into depression prevents Him from doing what He would otherwise do.

The problem that I see from most of the critics is that they live lives devoid of the Presence of God, so they attempt to explain away - in any way they can - the power they don't see. Mockery is a typical cover-up. My guess is Elijah experienced some of that.

Picture this: Elijah is weary. He has had a full day. He called fire down from heaven. Then he put to death 400 priests of Baal. He has run up and down Mt. Carmel a few times in a supernatural fervor... and has called in rain upon a parched land. As he slowly walks down the street towards home, some clueless individual yells something like: "Hey Eli! Have you 'seen GOD' lately?" *chuckle chuckle snicker snicker*

Maturing Into The Supernatural

The other day I was watching my two little girls. I was holding one, while the other was playing in the floor with a little stuffed black sheep. She loves that little toy. It's stuffed, but it's stuffed tight, so if she drops it, it will roll.

She dropped it, and it rolled away from her. She stretched to get it but couldn't reach it.

Standing next to her, I took my foot and flipped the sheep back into her lap. It surprised her. It happened so fast I don't even think she saw what happened. All of a sudden, her sheep was back in her grasp.

As I thought about the reality of that, a few things occurred to me.

What I had just done was a total impossibility for her. She didn't get it, understand it, or visualize it. Therefore she couldn't even begin to try to emulate it. Had she tried it - she would have failed miserably. She is 10 months old. There are milestones she must achieve before the possibility even becomes real.

For me, on the other hand, it was a simple act. I could have done it with red shoes, blue shoes, green shoes, no shoes, socks, no socks, or with either foot - every time - no failures.

At some point, my little girl will begin to understand what I did - even if she can't yet emulate it. Soon enough, she will be able to do those little acts with limited success - and then... she'll be able to do them without fail.

How much of the miraculous are we destined to mature into? I'm NOT saying we are heading for God-hood. But certainly, we are heading for greater measures of faith as we mature. With greater faith will come greater understanding and greater works.

I'll continue to seek the miraculous in my life. As I mature, I'm betting my success rate goes up in some areas. But I've got to quit swatting at that darned mobile and seek something new for a change.