Why Some People Never See God

When I pastored a church I dealt with people going through crises often.  Illnesses that defied medical resolution.  A marriage collapsing.  Addictions which destroyed lives and families.

Often people asked for prayer.  Sometimes the one destroying their life would ask.  Frankly, I never quite understood that.

So we’d pray and expect God to answer.  And he did sometimes in miraculous ways.  Answers that simply couldn’t be explained any other way.

Yet, occasionally I heard responses like, “Wow, that was lucky.”  Or, “Huh, the doctor must have misdiagnosed my illness.”  Or “Well, I’m just not sure about it all.”

Occasionally, I watched people relapse after truly receiving a miraculous gift.  Sometimes because they suddenly weren’t the center of attention.  They actually needed to become productive now.

Sometimes, people really didn’t want to be well.  They preferred their addiction thank you very much.  Oh, they talked about wanting to be well but deep inside they liked their life style.

But when they walked away from the miracle or excused it away they never saw it again.  See I think God rarely gives repeat performances.

Yet, the final state left them worse off.  Because now not only did they still struggle with the same problem but they lost hope of God giving them another miracle.

See I believe God does offer to us answers to our deepest problems.  And sometimes those answers come in miraculous ways because frankly that’s the only option.

I’ve seen and experienced enough to know.  Sometimes they’re big in your face miracles.  Sometimes the quiet every day kind.

And when we acknowledge them we give ourselves hope of seeing more.

When we’re thankful for them we open ourselves up to more of God’s power.

When we share the good of God’s blessings they will flow fuller in our lives.