November 18
But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Little girl, arise.’ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. Luke 8:54-56
God is not in showbusiness! It is always surprising to note how little Jesus used His works of power to advertise Himself. The age of miracles is not past. A friend of mine was a missionary in Papua New Guinea and he had to cross a river to visit a sick man. Returning in the evening, he was swept off his feet and sank under the weight of his backpack. He suddenly felt a mighty hand seize hold of him by the waist and lift him out of the water and place him gently on the river bank (angels must present quite a problem to the evolutionist!). This happened to an ordinary, sane and trustworthy man. Yet God seemingly did not intervene in this miraculous way in order to dazzle or impress anyone, but simply to care for His servant. In fact, this divine discretion seems to be part of His whole way of operating. He does not parade the sufferings of Jesus in order to get sympathy, and He does not perform works of power like a circus. But He does work continually where people put their trust in Him. If we do not know what He is doing, it means that we are definitely reading the wrong books! We will not find God advertised in the daily newspapers. The things of God must be sought out. We must stir ourselves to seek Him. He will not always make it easy for us. We have to lift the latch and push the door, and follow where our thirst for the living God leads us.
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