John 4:48 – “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

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The Tantrum

Jesus, I praise You for the maturity that has developed in me by the working of the Holy Spirit in that I don’t require miracles or have to see a sign in order to believe anymore.

I recall when we lost the first court case that I almost lost my ability to pray.  But you rescued me and held me and grew me up through that.  And what held me was the moment when I realized that I believed in You and I couldn’t deny Who you Are.  Whether You answered prayers in my life the way I thought You should was irrelevant to the Truth that You are Jesus, the Anointed Savior and worthy of my worship. I realized that I knew Your goodness too well to turn my back on You even though I couldn’t understand why You allowed the outcome that devastated me.

That revelation is the same one the disciples had when You challenged them with uncomfortable truth and then asked them if they wanted to walk away.  Their response was the same as mine, “Where else would we go?  You alone have the words of life.”

Everyone of us, after we have walked with You for a while, will have that season where You don’t seem to answer our prayers the way we want or pull rabbits out of hats at our request.  Our soul rebels when we are confronted with the fact that You are not our puppet on a string.  You are God and You are higher in every way than us.  In order to mature us and to reveal the wonder of the Father-child relationship we have with You, You allow us to have seasons of seeming silence where all we have to cling to is the Truth about Who You are.

But Jesus, it’s your mercy that doesn’t allow us to become like the people who will not believe in You without a miraculous sign – and lose their shallow faith if signs and wonders cease.

Now you:

  • When you have had a prayer either go unanswered or turn out the opposite way that you prayed, did you throw a prayer tantrum? (I did!)
  • Have you ever stopped to think that it’s God mercy and kindness that prevents us from getting our way all the time and that shuts off the miracle spicket sometimes?

Two year olds and teenagers throw fits.  Adults are supposed to be beyond that. So if we’re throwing tantrums or slamming doors (of our hearts) in God’s face, then we’re either acting like a 2 year old or a teenager.  We need to grow up.

We all know that spoiling a 2 year old is only going to create a brat and appeasing a teenager’s every whim is only going to send a demanding, self-centered person out into the world.  So God as a good Father knows that while we need signs and wonders when we’re a young Christian in order to be assured of His care and nurturing, there comes a point when we need to walk by faith and not always by sight.

Don’t get me wrong, He still answers prayers and performs miraculous things for us all throughout our lives.  But it’s our dependence on signs and wonders in order to believe that He wants to sever.  Signs and wonders should be the outflow of our faith not the other way around.