Seeing God

Two years ago I read Mark Batterson’s book The Grave Robber. If you haven’t read it, YOU SHOULD. The book unpacks the book of John in the Bible and takes a deep look at it. I am a fan of Mark and how he brings the Bible alive in his books while challenging you to apply God’s truth to YOUR life!

Grave Robber challenges you to look for God and the miracles He performs today…to pray for them and to expect them and to look for them. I took this challenge two years ago which was convicting and exhilarating all at the same time. I realized my view of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in my own life was way TOO SMALL. If you at all read what I write, then YOU KNOW…I have seen miracle after miracle…big and small!!!!!

My desire for this post is for us to SEE God the way we all are to SEE HIM–AS the ALMIGHTY GOD…

THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA…

THE BEGINNING AND THE END….

THE WORD THAT CAME TO LIFE…

AND

THE GOD WHO WAS FULLY MAN AND WAS RESURRECTED and who, in 2017, performs MIRACLES!!!!!

Last week, as many of you know, I flew to Bogota in South America to watch our son, Thomas, play in his first Web.com/PGA Event. I went basically to check out what it was like to play in a foreign country and see what was accessible to a player with Type 1 diabetes….from food, to water to medical professionals.

Even though Thomas is a healthy guy, he is so because of the diligence we all have in managing his disease! The first miracle is that God would have me in a position time-wise and financially to be able to go. That in and of itself is where I need to know and want you, the reader, to know…that it was God’s provision….for me and for him, especially the timing, which was out of my control. (I can’t predict if or when Thomas is going to qualify for a tournament!)

The trip to Bogota was a miracle. Thirty minutes after we took off from Miami the plane took a SHARP 180 degree right turn. The captain said, “Buckle your seat belts. We have got to get this plane on the ground now. We will hopefully be on the ground in 15 minutes.”

With that he dropped that 747 out of the sky. Firetrucks and ambulances raced down the runway as we landed. Later we found out one of the two engines had failed. When that happens as you are ascending after takeoff, it puts too much stress on the other engine…so we were in serious danger of crashing.

I won’t go into detail about how much my whole body shook for an hour after we were on the ground. I HAD NO LEGS AT ALL! We did get another plane. It was a miracle that I was able to get on it and become airborne once again. God and prayer CALMED MY SHAKING BODY AND NERVES.

Let me just say…I am not at all afraid to die. I just don’t like the motion of airplanes and bumps…it is pure torture for me!

After landing in South America, we, of course, had to get our bags. Note: my two HEAVY BAGS with everything but the kitchen sink in them and Thomas’ golf clubs. I have a major hand problem so Thomas was trying to get ALL the bags. All of a sudden he “yelped” in pain. Men, especially Thomas, don’t scream. I recognized that “YELP!” I turned and asked what was wrong. Thomas said words I didn’t want to hear, “I think I broke my hand!!!”

I need to stop right here and let you know Thomas has had three hand surgeries in the last two years. Two on one hand and one on the other. Guess which hand he hurt? The one with the two surgeries–the weaker hand!!!

I stopped to help him. We somehow managed to get our bags to the taxi with the help of a fellow golfer. I handed Thomas three Advil and said, “I will pray. Let’s get to hotel. Don’t worry.”

Fast forward…we got to the hotel, dumped our stuff, then went immediately to the golf course so that Thomas could try and hit balls ….to SEE how his hand was really doing. It was terrible. The pain was a 10!!! I know Thomas and I know his hands. We needed a miracle.

Thomas was so pumped to have the opportunity to play in his first Web/PGA event and the look on his face was that of bewilderment. We had just landed in a foreign country. I asked the officials if there was a doctor available and the answer was NO. The look in Thomas’ eyes was that of fear, disappointment, frustration. HE IS NOT A FAKER. He never cries wolf.

We took a break. He walked to get some water with his newly hired caddie and…I prayed. God immediately brought James 5:14, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” I pulled out my phone and texted six people who I consider to be “elders” and explained how Thomas needed healing, a miracle.

Within 30 minutes I had heard from all six with responses varying from “done” to “You got it!” to “praying now,” to the scripture found in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

When he returned, I encouraged Thomas that we were standing in prayer for a miracle. A miracle, in my opinion, is when you are in an impossible situation and unless God intervenes…things don’t change and that is where I saw Thomas and his hand/wrist. He had bent it backwards at the airport and he was in serious pain.

We took his clubs and left the golf course deciding to take a break until the next day. We were believing a miracle would happen. We spent the rest of the day getting our bearings in an unknown land.

The next day we got up, showered and headed to the course. All the people I had texted the day before checked in on Thomas’ hand. I responded to each with, “I will let you know in just a bit.” Thomas had already said the throbbing had ceased before we went to bed the night before. We ate breakfast and then headed to the range.

All I can say is PRAISE THE LORD…TO HIM BE ALL GLORY AND PRAISE. Thomas pulled an iron and hit a ball. As he hit the first one, I held my breath. He turned with this look and said, “Wow! Mom, there is NO PAIN. I feel NOTHING!!!”

He hit another ball, then raked another and hit. He changed clubs and hit another and another…NO PAIN.

I whipped out my phone and started texting “the elders.” I was so EXCITED. Thomas experienced the supernatural POWER of God’s healing touch!! And the Power of HIS Word! This may seem far-fetched or not relatable if this didn’t happened to you personally but let me just say, Thomas Bradshaw will be the first to tell you that he experienced the miracle of healing. 🙂

I will not minimize this…it was God’s touch! Thomas had seriously injured his hand and within 24 hours of the faithful prayers, his hand was healed. During the whole tournament, and many rounds of golf in South America, he did not experience even a twinge of pain.

Point of Post….I can’t begin to write in one swoop…about the supernatural hand of God…but I can tell you HE is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Miracles happen today just like they did when Jesus walked the earth. MY problem and the problem for most is a lack of faith and the willingness to pray and believe. Of course I have prayed for healing miracles and haven’t gotten the answer I wanted…but I do pray for God’s will. If Thomas’ hand had not been healed, I would have accepted God’s will and looked for our purpose in South America… knowing that God had a purpose. Knowing scripture teaches both…ask, seek and knock in Matthew 7:7 and also that we are not to lean on our own understanding in Proverbs 3:5-6.

God is more than a subject to be studied. HE is the object of all wonder, all worship. The miracles of God make us appreciate the mystery of God. They also help us SEE God for who He is–the Wine Maker, the Water Walker and the “Grave Robber!”

I invite you today to study God’s word and apply it to your life. Do not allow Satan to cloud your thinking into believing the lie that God is a God of yesterday, a God of old.

Remember, everyone wants a miracle. But here’s something to think about…NO one wants to be in a situation that necessitates one. You can’t have one without the other.

Seek to grow your faith in the One who holds your future….God truly is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *