God of Miracles, Father!

My country has been on the news lately for mostly wrong reasons. A cultic preacher has allegedly caused the deaths of hundreds of his vulnerable followers through false preaching on prayer and fasting. It seems that it has been going on for years. Every day we watch the screens with a mixture of trepidation and hope. The toll of bodies dug up from mass graves increase each day. There are also days the police forcefully rescue a few people still hiding in thickets in the vast forest, intent on carrying out their deadly plan to the end; fast and pray to death so that they can meet Jesus! The whole nation seems to have held its collective breathe, wondering how human beings can be so gullible and thoroughly deceived to death, literally! The rich and the poor, the learned and unlearned, single people and whole families have fallen victim to his erroneous doctrines.

At first, it seems incredible that a human being would go to such lengths. We have asked ourselves so many questions- what were they thinking? Why couldn’t they see that their own leader wasn’t following his own doctrines? What drove them to such an extreme? Why would a sane lady with a great job sell her land for seven million Kenya shillings, take her son and choose to go die? Why would a loving father take his wife and five children to go die? Why would a young man in university with a promising future become so despondent and decide to die? The heart of these questions reveals a desperation that’s crying out for answers, to be filled, to have meaning. The problem however, in our pursuit for answers was pointed out by Jesus over two millennia ago. Many times we are seeking after miracles, signs and wonders more than God Himself. The pursuit of miracles, signs and wonders without God Himself is guaranteed destruction.

It may be that we count ourselves fortunate to be alive and consider ourselves not to be so gullible, but you only have to flip over to some of the so called ‘Christian’ channels. If you observe honestly, you will see that the enemy has deceived many and is stealing, killing and destroying at will. ‘Anointed tools’ like holy water, holy oil, holy stickers, holy shawls and all other paraphernalia are being sold on pulpits. All manner of disorderly and indecent theatrics (some even violent) are performed in the name of ‘deliverance’. Hundreds of desperate people flock to these places to find answers and to hear what their ears are itching to hear; they do not study scripture for themselves or even test the spirits as the apostles urged. What about closer home? Have you ever tried bribing God for your will to be done? Maybe you have decided to fast and pray or give an offering to receive a particular answer in the way you want it? Maybe you have not, but I have. Not just once!

Naaman went to Israel to seek a solution for his condition. Elisha’s reception of this high ranked official seemed rather cold and detached, rude even. Elisha was well aware of his fame in the region given the great things he had done. He however did not want to be esteemed or worshipped by this general from Aram. He was in a position to demand it, but it seems that what he wanted most for Naaman was far more than the healing that he would experience at the Jordan. He wanted Naaman to know that there is a God in Israel. He wanted him to have an experience, a life changing encounter with God, the one true God. Naaman had an encounter with God that not only healed him but changed him. He went back a convert. And I am sure that he did not keep this news of this great God to himself, given that he had promised to build a very prominent reminder-an altar to God with soil from Israel. He must have become an evangelist of sorts, recounting this miraculous story to every visitor he received. If you read from the first verse of the chapter, you will realize that God, in His wisdom had orchestrated all these events-He was after Naaman’s heart.

That is our Father’s heart, that we may know Him and love Him with all our heart, soul and mind. God has many promises in His word for us that we freely claim as His children. He can provide for us a piece of bread for the day or a job that pays millions of shillings. He is our Father and is pleased to hear us and answer our prayers. However more than that, He seeks an intimate relationship with us because He is the only one who can truly fill that ‘God-shaped hole’ in our hearts and give true peace, meaning and fulfillment. If He is not King of our lives, then everything else we are seeking for can become a weapon for the enemy to destroy us. His will is good and perfect and pleasing when we give ourselves wholly to Him. I thank God that He has been ‘slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love’ for me. Through the Holy Spirit, He is transforming me through His Word and prayer and therefore teaching me to truly love Him. There are times I still get tempted to pull out the ‘bribe’ card, but now I remember more that the God of miracles is also my Father. Having Him is better than having all the other things He could give me, and will indeed give me according to His will.

(Matthew 12:39, John 10:10, 2 Tim 4:3-4, 2 Tim 3:16, 1 John 4:1, 2 Kings 5:1-19, Matthew 22:36-40, Romans 12:1-2)