Acts of God
January 27, 2006 • By Ed Wrather
01.27.06
So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. - Exodus 7:10-13.
Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels (entertained angels unawares - KJV). - Hebrews 13:1-2.
There have been many miraculous reports of people being saved from the 2004 tsunami. One of those reports is about a group of fishermen. They reported that just prior to the tsunami hitting that a group of dolphins pushed their boat out into deeper water and out of harm’s way. There have been consistent reports of other saved by dolphins through the centuries especially from shark attacks.
When something like the fishermen being saved occurred what do we think? Do we think, “Oh, those marvelously intelligent, kind, wonderful dolphins?” Or, do we think, “Praise, God for delivering those fishermen from danger!” When the miraculous occurs, do we recognize that it has occurred and give credit, praise, glory where it is due?
The majority of people across this world are just like the Egyptian Pharaoh. Pharaoh saw a mighty miracle performed but dismissed it as a magic trick. How many miracles would it take for Pharaoh to believe that the God of the Hebrews was greater than his magicians and his false gods? Even after the ten plagues Pharaoh still had his doubts and chased after the Hebrews to bring them back into Egypt. The plagues were obvious miraculous interventions by the One true God and yet Pharaoh could not comprehend, could not understand the miraculous that was happening before his eyes. He chose not to believe or you could say as the Bible does that, he “hardened his heart.”
You may be thinking that if something as miraculous as being saved by dolphins from a tsunami happened to you that you would know God did it and praise Him. I would hope you would and I would hope I would too. But what about all of the smaller miraculous interventions that occur virtually every day in our lives? You are on your way to work, ready to step out the door and the phone rings. You take a moment to talk to your friend, even though you may be late. On your way to work you pass an accident and realize it could have been you if you had been a few moments ahead of where you were. Or, you encounter an old friend at a store during the day that you had not seen for years. Little miracles, easily passed off as just life happening - it is in the ordinary, day-to-day things that we should be looking for God.
God is at work constantly in our lives, in your life. Do you see Him?