Miracles and Blessings
“And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” Mark 5:18-19
Oh, what a miracle! Talk about the impossible. The Bible is chock full of Jesus’ miracles, but some of them just stand out. Like the man possessed with devils who lived in the tombs, broke out of his chains, cried, and cut himself. What a heinous life – until Jesus came along and sent the devils that possessed the man into the swine. Incredible details aside, there is a phenomenal, and convicting, lesson in this for all of us. Do you know what Legion wanted to do after receiving his miracle? He wanted to be with Jesus! Jesus told him instead to go share his testimony with his friends. So what’s the big deal with the man set free wanting to hang out with Jesus?
Some of us have a tendency of running to God when we desperately want or need something, if we go to Him at all, then scurrying back to our everyday lives to enjoy our God-given miracles and blessings. We might stick around the Lord long enough for a thank you, but do we desire what the man with the miracle desired? Do we want to spend time in God’s presence? Do we commit time daily to praying, studying His Word, crying out to Him, praising Him, loving Him, listening to Him and obeying Him, and enjoy a relationship with Him above anything or anyone else in our lives, or do we simply run off with our blessings, leaving Him in the dust, until the next time we need or want something? Pretty convicting, isn’t it? But conviction isn’t so we can turn the other way, or condemn ourselves and become discouraged, but so we can repent of our sins and commit to do what is right.
Our ultimate goal should be to find the right balance between spending time with the Lord, going back to our everyday lives to tell others of the goodness of God, and, yes, enjoying the blessings and miracles He so graciously gives us.