CHANGED METHODS. UNCHANGING LOVE.
(6-minute read)
We can easily fall into the trap of familiarity with God when we no longer look for new things to unpack in our relationship with Him. This happens when we let our preferences and priorities dictate how much we want to engage Him to know Him better. Instead, we rely on what we already know about God and what He had done in the past to predict what He will do in the future (not unlike crystal-ball gazing), and we keep looking for familiar signs as evidence of His involvement in our lives. Over time, we begin to lose all awe and wonder of God.
Yet, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the bible is replete with stories demonstrating that God is always more than a few steps ahead of us, desiring to be sought out more intimately. While His love for us is unchanging, He often shows it through different methods and approaches. From battle strategies, to crossing oceans and rivers, to healing of the blind, the results might appear the same but the methods were never scientific (that is, use the same method to produce the same outcomes). Indeed, if we dive deeper into a study of God’s miracles, we will find nothing consistent except His unfailing love for His people.
To illustrate, we'll take a look at some typical themes in God’s miracles.
God Broke Through Barriers
God had broken through formidable physical barriers that would have been death traps for the Israelites before they even reached the Promised Land. Crossing the Red Sea, Moses was instructed to “Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14:16-22)
Yet, when Joshua led the Israelites to cross the Jordan, he could not simply do an encore of what Moses did. And God, by His sovereign will, picked a time for the Israelites to set out when the River Jordan was at flood stage rather than a lower tide season! This time, the priests were instructed to carry the ark and walk into the river. As soon as their feet “touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away” cutting off the water flowing downstream.
None of God’s methods for splitting waters to create dry grounds to walk on were proven methods. In fact, they were counterintuitive to man but they worked wonderfully as His miracles!
God Provided Water
After the Red Sea, the Israelites set foot on desert grounds and travelled on for three days without water until they reached Marah where the water tasted bitter. Then, “The Lord showed Moses a piece of stick” and after he threw it into the water, the water became fit for consumption. (Exodus 15:22-27)
Later, the people again faced another scarcity of water and as in Marah, “they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” This time, however, God instructed Moses, “take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” (Exodus 17:1-7)
Yet, another time in the Desert of Zin, the people were provoked because of the lack of water to drink. God instructed Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
It is futile to ask: which method produced more water - throw a stick into water, strike a rock with a stick, or speak to a rock? Because neither sticks nor rocks were capable of producing safe water for people to drink. The one critical ingredient was obedience to God.
God Restored Sight
Jesus often restored sight to the blind so that they would say, “I was blind but now I see” (John 9:25).
Techniques and root causes never mattered to Jesus when He healed people of blindness. Bartimaeus received his sight instantly when Jesus said, “Go! Your faith has healed you.” (Mark 10:46-52). Yet, the healing process for another man who was born blind involved a mixture of mud with Jesus’ saliva that was rubbed on his eyes, and the Lord told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (John 9:1-7).
As both methods were equally effective, it would have been pointless for any one of these men to insist on Jesus using their preferred modality.
All these examples tell us three important things:
DO NOT LIMIT GOD
We must never limit God in our minds because it will diminish our ability to experience His power and His miraculous interventions for us. God always wants to take us deeper than we are comfortable with. He will always lead us into water (signifying circumstances) further than ankle deep, knee deep and waist high until we learn to swim in the River of Life, or sink in spiritual stagnation (Ezekiel 47:3-5).
It is a mistake to cling onto stability just to avoid the effort it takes to follow God’s ever-changing course. As any healthy relationships, our relationship with God takes effort because He loves to be found setting up something amazing in our lives (Isaiah 55:6, Deuteronomy 4:29). Just because we have not experienced a breakthrough yet does not mean it won’t ever happen in our lives. Frantically trying to figure out how God will help us does not develop faith, but trusting that He is intimately interested in our lives leaves the door wide open to experiences of His miracles.
DO NOT DOUBT GOD’S LOVE
God’s love cannot be reduced to the standard of human love – ambivalent, fickle and conditional. God’s love is restorative and redemptive even when we often feel more conflicted than confident about it. His love is a stronger force than our feelings about Him (Romans 5:8), more steadfast than our determination to love Him (Romans 8:38-39), and more robust than our imagination of Him (Romans 11:33-36).
Do not downplay God’s love just because it makes you feel terribly uncomfortable. Instead, double down on what the Word says about His everlasting love especially when you feel rejected and fearful of taking the risk to trust Him yet again.
YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND – STILL, TRUST GOD
It is impossible for God to lie. His promises are secure and crisis-proof. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20). So “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19a).
Trust that God will… in His time… release His miracles… into your life.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 18 January 2025.
