God Doesn't Show Off

Isn't it odd how unremarkable and non-flashy miracles often are? There are very few "fire from heaven" moments in Scripture. Instead, we tend to witness an incredible event that simply just sort of ...happens.

• Feeding the 5,000: Jesus breaks the bread and they happen to collect leftovers.
• Widow pouring oil: She keeps filling jars until they are all filled.
• Water to wine: Only a few servants and the disciples know what's going on.
• Wandering in the desert: Their clothes and shoes don't wear out.

There are no magical incantations or pulsating lights; no glowing orbs or eerie music; the fanfare is nonexistent. In fact, I get the feeling that if you weren't paying attention, you'd totally miss what just happened. Scripture glosses over the miracle part to merely state the factual outcome.

This reminds me of some of the amazing accounts we read in Sonlight's programs:

• The milkman who shows up at the doorstep for George Muller's orphanage.
• The medicine that doesn't run out while Corrie ten Boom was in a Nazi concentration camp.
• The Bibles that slip through customs with Brother Andrew.
• The missing language barrier when some of Bruce Olson's friends return from a missions trip to a neighboring village.

Why does God so often work behind the scenes and in the shadows? He's clearly involved here, so why not take a little more credit? Why not make it painfully obvious; you know, show off a bit more?

Probably because miracles are more about people than the miraculous.

God's provision and intervention is often about taking care of people, and so the person's faith and the outcome is what's important. The "magic" isn't the point. There isn't a system we should be looking for. We shouldn't get hung up on trying to figure out how to manipulate God to do something cool again. Instead, we should focus on following God where He leads. And when we do that, He takes care of us... often in an invisibly spectacular way.

There have been many times in my life when I've looked back and wondered, 'How did that work out?' God absolutely provided, but I didn't notice Him doing it at the time. I missed it because it was subtle and I wasn't paying attention.

Have you noticed when God has provided for your family? Did you recognize it at the time, or only in retrospect? Any thoughts on why God so often doesn't show off?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester