This is a story about a miracle.
Sometimes I hear people ask why God doesnt do miracles any more, or why the miracles that happen in the Bible are so much ¨cooler¨than what He does today. The truth however, is that God is a God who still does miracles. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Oftentimes, the reason we dont see miracles is beacuse were too close minded to see how God is working around us, in short were not hungry enough.
I just finished reading a book by Heidi and Rolland Baker, called the Hungry Always Get Fed. Now in the natural that statement would be absurd, because there are hundreds if not thousands of people dying of starvation in any given country every day. However, the point of the book is that God does crazy things for those that are desperate for Him. Those who have no backup plan, who like Mary pour everything they have on Jesus feet, expecting nothing in return but the satisfaction of being able to bless and worship their Lord. That is the kind of reckless abandon that blesses Gods heart, and causes Him to pour out His blessings in crazy measures. Just as Jesus taught in His sermon on the mount:¨¨ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied…¨ and ¨seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and everything else will be added to you.¨
The hungry always get fed…
The team just got back to Nauta today from a youth retreat that we led yesterday and today at a missionary retreat center about 2 hours up river. We played games, had small group sessions, worshipped, played more games, listened to teachings, and just had great fellowship. We rode as a team on our normal boat, and all the Peruvian youth came with us. We had 66 people on our boat.
We were running late, (per usual, nothing ever seems to happen on time with the Peru crew) and we had to take our lunch with us onto the boat. We only had the food that usually barely feeds our super sized American appetities. But we decided to share our food with all 66 people on the boat. Most of us expected no food. How can that amount feed 66 people? It would have been perfectly natural to be completely sceptical. Honestly, I wasnt expecting to get any food. But I still prayed that God would multiply the food, trying to fight through my doubts and let my faith shine through. After all, were all on a journey of discovery of what faith in action really looks like. What does a life of total abandonment, reckless perfume spilling abandon look like?
But rather than give into our human intuition, we prayed over the food, giving thanks for it, and believing in faith that God was going to multiply it. The crazy part of this story, is that not only did all 66 people on the boat get something to eat, all 66 people on the boat had a full plate and there were leftovers!
The hungry always get fed…
I had heard of ministires such as Iris having God regurlarly multiply food, and I had always wanted to see it. And God heard my prayer. He hears us when we pray, and He loves it when we act in faith, because theres no way that we can get the glory for something that is only possible through His Spirit. So dont be afraid to be hungry, because hunger is the escort to deeper things of God… it opens the door for Him to work, because in that moment, we are only reliant upon Him, and not anything we can muster out of our flesh…
Our first day here in Nauta, I wrote a prayer in my journal for God to pour out His Spirit in a fresh way the last two weeks we were going to be here, and since weve been here, theres been no end of divine appointments, miracles such as the one I related, healings and other signs of Gods presence. God is a God who still does miracles every day. Even smaller ones, like the fact that none of our team has gotten malaria, that even the sickest among us have eventually recovered, that weve had no one get seriously injured, that the Lord has protected us from witchcraft and demonic presence, that God has caused us to always have safe travels, that we always have enough to eat, and that we have palces to lay our head. There are miracles all around us. breathing itself is a miracle.
Hes taking us to a new level; like the blog I posted earlier in the trip, Hes teaching me how to swim…
