Miracles Follow Those Who Wait
Devotional Contributor: Bob Ulmer
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) … but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.
The life of Paul is amazing, and is most completely recorded for us in the Book of Acts. What he went through in taking the gospel to the Gentiles was not an easy task, but how was he to know that when he started out? He was apprehended by God in a miraculous way, blinded in the experience, and then given his sight again in another miraculous way. He escaped those who sought to kill him because he had received Christ, and because he turned from persecuting Christians to seeking to turn Jews and Gentiles to Him. As we read of his life, it was replete with miracles. Through Paul’s testimony of Christ, attended by those miracles, God spread His kingdom.
As I thought about the way God performed miracle after miracle in his life, I had to take note that in each case it was because he carried out a kingdom life that resulted in miracles; preaching or sharing the Gospel to Jews, the heathen, Roman soldiers, governors, and kings. He healed the sick and cast out demons. Each case seemed to bring persecution of some kind but also resulted in a miracle.
He was kicked out of synagogues, run out of several towns, thrown into jail, flogged 5 times, considered a fool for his teaching, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked 3 times, and bitten by a poisonous snake. It seemed like a life of endless problems. But read of the victories and accompanying miracle. Read how God turned people’s hearts to Him through Paul. As a result, whole towns and islands were impacted for the kingdom. Churches were established throughout the regions of today’s Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece, the island of Malta, and Rome. How about the letters to churches and individuals that have become a key part of the New Testament and thus foundational to the Church and all believers.
Paul was a zealot in persecuting Christians at the outset. God saw that zealousness and turned it into kingdom purposes. Similarly, God can take what he has designed and purposed in you and me and use us to bring the kingdom to those whom He puts before us – family, friends, fellow workers, or others He sends us to. He sends us with Christ within us and Holy Spirit guiding us with whatever we need for the task. He tells us that signs and wonders will follow those who believe.
“The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.” (Acts 15:12 NIV).
In these crazy days in which we live, each of us will need to know how God is leading. This is no place to strike out on our own expecting God to take care of the rest. That can only lead to offenses and trouble. We must depend on Holy Spirit to guide, and that means listening. Listening requires waiting, and a quiet heart into which the Spirit can speak.
There’s a chorus with these lyrics: “Wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage; be of good courage. Strengthen you heart; strengthen your heart. Wait on the Lord.” As we do just that – wait, hear, and be strengthened – we will know how to live out the kingdom - with signs and wonders following. God has amazing things ahead for us.
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Ps. 27:14 (NIV)
