To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

Matthew 4:5-7 NIV

  Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
   "’He will command his angels concerning you,
      and they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’"

 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’"

 

When Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself from the top of the temple, he used Psalm 91:11-12 (NIV) that says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  Jesus responded to the devil with Deuteronomy 6:16a (NIV), saying, “Do not test the LORD your God…”

 

Oh, how many of us need to read this again and again today!  So often, we seem to think of God as a magician, someone who pulls a big neon rabbit out of a hat to let us know what direction to go, what He wants us to do, or merely whether He is real or not!  We need to make a decision, so we ask God for a sign.  And we sit back and wait for that big, miraculous fireworks display that flashes "God Did It!" in giant letters.  We think if we pray the right way, using just the right words in just the right order, we can get God to show us beyond a shadow of a doubt through some Steven Spielberg-type display that we are on the right track.

 

Remember the story in Joshua 3 about the people of Israel crossing the Jordan ?  The Jordan was at flood stage.  It was a raging torrent.  God told the priests to take up the Ark of the Covenant and step off into the water.  From a human standpoint, they were being told to commit suicide.  But from a spiritual standpoint, they were being told to have faith in God.  The priests stepped into the water - and the raging waters stopped!

 

In Matthew 16:1-4, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were looking for a sign from heaven.  Jesus answered them in verses 2-4, “He replied, ‘When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ Jesus then left them and went away.” 

 

What was the “sign of Jonah”?  Jesus told us in Matthew 12:39-40 (NIV), "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

 

Although Jesus worked many miracles during His ministry, He never once performed a miracle just because someone asked him to.  Instead, when someone asked for a sign, He would respond in a manner similar to what He said in both of the scriptures above.

 

God is not a magician.  Nor is a He a puppet whose miraculous strings we can pull.  He is God Almighty.  He wants us to have faith in Him, not in signs and wonders.  He guides us gently and quietly, showing us the raging water and waiting to see if we have enough faith to step in.

 

Don’t put God to the test.  Instead, take the fourteenth step in learning to live by faith, and allow him to test your faith.  Step into the water.  Wade out a little bit deeper.  Wet your feet in the water of His love.  Allow Him to show you His power through your faith, not through some miraculous sign that you’ve dreamed up on your own.

 

"He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’"  Luke 16:31 NIV