EMAIL DEVOTIONAL
LENT 4
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified. (1 Corinthians 1:22)
Have you ever prayed for a miracle? Have you ever had a prayer for a miracle answered? How have you felt when your prayer wasn’t answered in the way you had hoped? Were you able to see a different answer to your prayer at those times? I found myself thinking about miracles this weekend, because of our Gospel Lesson in church yesterday which told the story of Jesus giving sight to a man who was blind from birth. My experience is that oft times we evaluate the value of the prayer … and sometimes the value of God … by the result of the prayer. We ask ourselves, “Did God deliver what I asked for?” If the answer is “yes” then it’s all good. But if we cannot answer yes, we oft times have some issues … with God … with our faith or faith in general … with our own hearts and minds.
This invites us to pick up a companion theme to the one we addressed in the sermon this morning around the phrase … “God’s works being revealed.” Do we overrate miracles, and our expectations surrounding them? If the heart of today’s story about the healing of the man born blind is the revealing of God’s work in our lives, do we really need miracles? Is not God working within and among us all the time? We live in a world that craves the flash in the pan and the signature moment. We thrive on extravagant and one-of-a-kind events that get our adrenaline rushing, and our hearts pumping. But is that where the steady heartbeat of life is found?
Sometimes I think we over-rate miraculous events and the once in a life-time experiences that come our way. They’re exciting in the moment, and provide a warm buzz which you can reflect back upon. But it is the daily fare of life and the stable and consistent nourishment that keeps us healthy and well. And in our spiritual life it is the never-ending love of God and the ongoing promises of grace and peace that make our spiritual lives a resource for our Christian walk. The Christian faith I all about the long haul … the really long haul, right?
So in your reflection and prayers this week, give some thought to the ways that God feeds you with daily nourishment. Maybe it is regular prayer in your life … or the reading through books in the Bible … it could be spiritual journaling … or regular worship and almsgiving … maybe it is the gift of Christian music. Whatever your daily sustenance is, think about the ways God comes to you moment by moment every day of your life … celebrate the occasional miracles … but recognize where the lifeblood of faith flows.
