God of the Unexpected

I cannot count the times God has done something amazing an entirely different way from what I expected.  In fact, this happens so often that I have begun to believe that if I’ve thought of it, that is NOT the way the Lord will do it.  My propensity to err in reasoning God’s methods has served to highlight the difference between my good ideas and God’s better ideas. Therefore, I have found it prudent to be very purposeful in choosing His plan over mine.

Along with this reality check is the interesting importance God places on matters and situations that often differ dramatically from ours.  One way He demonstrates His priorities is with the miraculous.  An interesting case-in-point is found in 2 Kings 6:6-7 where the prophet, Elisha, was with the company of prophets who were cutting trees to build new quarters at the Jordan River. A borrowed ax-head flew off its handle into the river, distressing its user.  “The man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’ When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. ⁷ ‘Lift it out,’ he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.”  Can throwing a stick into the water seriously make sunken iron float to the surface?

Clearly, God worked this miracle of illogical methodology, through Elisha’s obedience. The confusing part is that no life-halting crisis existed where we normally expect miraculous intervention. Additionally, no one outside this company of prophets was privy to it, so we might be tempted to think the mind-boggling impact was wasted.  But what if God was simply enjoying demonstrating what is natural and normal for Him while simultaneously elevating Elisha in the eyes of others?  This “minor” miracle was actually major in scope: altering the molecular composition of matter.

When we look carefully at Jesus’ earthly ministry, we see Him repeating this miracle everywhere.  He introduced Himself to the world through changing water into wine by simply giving instructions to draw water and pour.  Then He made the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the blind see through differing methods unlike anything he had previously done.  At His Word, a two-drachma coin to pay the temple tax was found in the first fish of the first catch of the day.  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He walked through walls to eat a bite with those gathered in fear and mourning. We might think His final miracle was the weightlessness of His bodily ascension into Heaven that ignored gravity.  But the miracle of molecular restructuring continues today with Jesus’ work to baptize us with the Holy Spirit, thus equipping us to participate in the molecular miracles of healings and deliverances.

God Who created all molecular structure can alter it any way He sees fit any time He desires to accomplish His purpose.  We tend to get stuck in our natural world of physical properties and laws of nature.  If it doesn’t make intellectual sense from our very limited physical experiences, we often reject it.  Then we wonder why we don’t see many miracles such as what couple-friends of ours experienced when a tractor-trailer poised for a deadly head-on collision passed through their vehicle without harm.  There wasn’t time to pray, but, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a Warrior who saves.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

If we want to know our God of surpassing love for the unfathomable, all-knowing, all-seeing and involved God that He is, then we must let Him out of the box of our puny understanding and wrong expectations.  It is not His way to conform to our narrow thinking and limitations.  Instead, we should pray as Elisha did over his servant, “O Lord, open [my] eyes so [I] may see.” (2 Kings 6:17)