Expecting the supernatural in a persistently natural world

Abraham’s life unlike that of Moses’ was not one that was peppered with cosmic supernatural events. Yet, he was recognized by all as the father of faith for his tenacity to expect the supernatural despite a persistently natural world. God’s promise concerning a land of blessing did not seem too forthcoming. He was met with a famine shortly after arriving in Canaan forcing him to take refuge in Egypt. Sarai had to endure 20 years of barrenness going beyond her menopause. Up until the point of Isaac’s inception, we can safely say that nothing miraculous had happened to Abraham apart from God’s promise.

I know friends who find it hard to expect the miraculous and choose to put their trust in real world solutions. They have once cried out to God for divine intervention at a time of dire need only to be disappointed by – the death of a loved one. Although they did not lose faith in God’s loving kindness and understood that God had a reason for every tribulation, they still don’t quite know how to assimilate the supernatural into the natural world.

I want us to consider this proposition: the natural world serves to try the tenacity of our faith in the supernatural God. Hence, we must persevere in expecting the miraculous and not give up. Abraham was promised descendants like stars that populate the sky and sand that fill the seashore. Numerous times, he cried out to God for divine intervention and considered the possibility of adopting his servant as his son. At one point, they even lost all hope of the supernatural. Sarai said to Abram,

“Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. Genesis 16:2-3

After 10 years of waiting, they decided that the supernatural was not for them. Both Abram and Sarai decided to take their chances with real world solutions – Hagar, the maid. However, it did not take long for them to realize that Hagar was not God’s idea as a family feud followed that saw Hagar booted out. However, it seemed that God was trying Abram and Sarai’s faith in the supernatural through a persistently natural world. One day, God appeared to Abraham and said,

“As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” 

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child. And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You.” Genesis 17:15-18

The announcement of a coming supernatural event was met with cold skepticism. Abraham decided that the supernatural was no longer necessary to obtain God’s promise. Abraham said to God, “Look… we’ve already gotten Ishmael. The product of our human ingenuity!” But God replied,

“No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” Genesis 17:19

The truth is: Men can never obtain the promise of God without His supernatural intervention. In other words, after all that a man has done to the best of his ability, God Himself must still open the door. There is a place for the natural, which is the diligence and the faithfulness of men. But the supernatural reveals in no uncertain terms the faithfulness of God. Sarah received the power to conceive at the age of 90 because she considered God faithful to His promise. Hebrews 11:11 says,

By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Hebrews 11:11

Therefore, if believers are to obtain God’s promises for their lives, they need to consider God faithful who had promised by expecting the supernatural. The natural belongs to the diligence of men, but the supernatural unmistakably reveals the faithfulness of God. There is a chinese proverb: 万事俱备，只欠东风. It means that everything is in order, short of the crucial, which is not something men can do for themselves. Jesus had done all that He could up to the point of the cross, but short of the supernatural resurrection, there would have been no salvation for humanity.

In July 2007, I was at the point of burnout from church ministry and pastoral work. I was frequently tired and short-fused despite much sleep. I have always believed that having a right heart and a spirit of excellence was sufficient to succeed as a ministry worker. This crisis had me question the sufficiency of human diligence and wisdom. And if God is supernatural, why did I not encounter the supernatural in the natural? I decided to embark on a 20-day fast, desiring to encounter the supernatural God face-to-face. During that time of fasting, I felt burning fire and electricity all over my body which I came to recognize as the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit. Ever since then, miracles of healing and the gifts of the Spirit are a constant manifestation in my ministry. The dying lived, the blind saw, the deaf heard, cancer and AIDS sufferers were given new life. The powers of heaven and hell were entrusted to my charge. I have received the mandate to bring the gospel of repentance to Asia because I have never stopped believing in the supernatural in a persistently natural world.

Perhaps, like Abraham, you are persistently met with disappointments in the real world. And you have grown tired of expecting the supernatural and would rather trust in real world solutions. Does your faith grow with personal experiences of the supernatural or the knowledge of God’s promises? The risen Christ said to Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:29.