C. Michael Patton has written a moving post sharing a hard lesson he learned about interpreting signs and miracles in our everyday lives. I’ll let you read the full post, but his conclusion is that we need to be very careful when we experience miraculous events and try to discern God’s will from them—even when their message seems extremely obvious to us. In Patton’s case, a very understandable misinterpretation of a miracle led to extra pain and disappointment later when things didn’t turn out as hoped.
I hope you haven’t gone through an experience as tragic as the one Patton relates. But have you ever seen a miraculous sign from God in your life that seemed to have an obvious interpretation, only to find out later that you’d misread it? Read Patton’s post and share your thoughts.
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November 28, 2007 at 13:35
Especially where love is involved, I think it’s really easy to interpret a good thing, a fortunate or fortuitous-seeming thing as a God thing.
I’ve never quite been ‘betrayed’ by a sign like that before, but there have been many times in my life where I thought a romantic love or affection I had for someone else, that I felt was shared, was holy and therefore permanent, because I felt at peace with it and felt that God was blessing me through it.
I think the little things, disappointments like those, where you end up feeling betrayed, by God and by fate and by others at the same time and have no one to blame or aren’t sure why it failed or got ‘normal’, are the things that erode our faith the most commonly.
I wish we talked about those kinds of wounds at church – it’s easiest to forget to trust God when you’ve experienced disappointment and imagined that he intended for you not to get hurt.
You know what I mean?
November 28, 2007 at 14:10
Thanks for sharing such an amazing testimony. It is true that we often do not understand what God is doing. Also, God is a “respecter” of wills and he will work with those who are willing. There are too many “why’s” in our world. Many, in which we have no answer to. I guess the beauty of redemption is that one day we will understand. Job never knew the “why” of his situation. He never knew there was a spiritual argument and he was the “pawn”. And God’s reply to Job was simply… I am in control. We are foolish when we try to tell God what to do and how to do it. It’s a spiritual perspective that we can’t yet grasp.
November 28, 2007 at 17:21
You know, like so many others, when someone I love is sick I really get desperate and pray that God will heal them and to my sadness he never has. However, praise Him, the illness has never been fatal. But the issue I’m dealing with is this – I believe that with children for example they might be allowed to be ill so that their little bodies can build up its natural resistance to various things but, what about when an adult is violently ill and your prayer is not answered?
There has been so many times I’ve prayed for someone and nothing has happened. I watch them suffer and see no purpose in it. So, I ask myself, is it me? Do I have to do something to get a response? The scriptures talk about the prayers of a righteous man availing much. So am I not so righteous? God works all things for His good and I pray for wisdom and understanding but after all these years I still don’t get it. I’d like to open this to discussion, see if anyone else is scratching their heads too.
November 28, 2007 at 20:21
In response to Chris’s thoughts, I do believe that Michael had a real miracle in finding his sister. Perhaps the problem was interpreting this incorrectly as prophetic direction.
I have no problem with miracles today. Sure there are a lot of hoaxes and hyperbole by cheesy evangelists but…I had a broken arm healed at 13 when my mother prayed (and she was not pentecostal or charismatic, just a strong believer). X-rays show the before and after. 40 years later I was in a hospital waiting for a heart procedure and once again, my mother prayed and I was sponaneously healed and discharged from the hospital. And yet there have been times I have prayed for someone and have not seen results. The disciples couldn’t heal everyone they prayed for even after spending 3 years with Jesus watching him closely. Paul says to desire earnestly for spiritual gifts and the early church in acts prayed in unity for more healing. I just think we have a lot to learn about this whole subject. Lotsa mysteries here. Sign me up for the class!
My condolences to Michael Patton. I am so sorry about his sister.
Rick
November 29, 2007 at 01:54
It’ is almost like anything else when things don’t turn out like we won’t them too. I truly beleive that it is still a test from god to see if we are still going to trust and beleive in him so matter what. Keep trusting because i beleive that it is a great reason be bless and no that all things come from god and there no problem that he can’t solve.
November 29, 2007 at 16:28
My husband recently passed away from an infection caused by chemotherapy for leukemia. All through his illness we experienced ups and downs.
Like any war, illness is made up of a series of battles. We experienced some awesome victories throughout his illness, including healing of a long-standing back problem. (This back problem would have made treatment almost unbearable.) He went into remission, but then developed an infection. He went into the battle strong in both spirit and body. He fought to the end, but all of his reserves of strength were depleted.
We won many victories. Even though he went to be with the Lord, we consider it a win-win situation. No more awful treatments, no more infections, and being in the presence of the Lord.
I believe God heals today with all my heart. My family and I have experienced healing in the past. The why’s we’ll leave for when we see the Savior. I’d rather put it on the back burner than develop a whole theology out of my personal experience designed to give some “explanation.” The Word of God says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
December 1, 2007 at 08:36
I say a resounding Amen to Anna’s statements about healing. “Why” is a question that has no spiritual answer humans want to accept. We can see cause and effect in the physical world (smoke=suffer the consequences) but we can’t see the whole picture of our lives. I’ve also lost a spouse to cancer – had literally hundreds of believers praying all over the world – but he died – did God fail us? Did we fail a test? No matter how much we desire something – the requests made by prayer are not us sending in orders to God – He does not serve US. We can talk about the mysteries of faith – because now we see as in a darkened mirror. Hurts a lot no matter how much we believe, not trivializing anyone’s pain so the thought police can back off – I have been there, have the scars and don’t want a t-shirt to prove it.
December 1, 2007 at 15:02
In response to Chris,
I can speak with my own experience a little here.
I don’t think we should believe people who tells us that God will heal others
becauseorifwe are righteous or believe in Him – as if He has to, or respects our efforts like that, or wants to reward us.I don’t like the idea that, by US being righteous, we could somehow force God to be merciful to people that WE love (as if He doesn’t!) that He otherwise wouldn’t.
As if God was somehow supposed to ‘respect’ our love, care and concern for one another, above His own.
Why pray to a God who may or may not help us out? Why ask Him for help at all if we have to hope that He thinks we’re good people in order to get a response?
What kind of response are we looking for? We want that somehow the people we love will suffer less – or that their suffering somehow has a cause-and-effect that makes sense to us.
And if they die, or stay hurting, we doubt God or ourselves; God never told me that He was my omnipotent friend. I’ve heard other people try to tell me He is, but He never told me He was this all-powerful force who would act benevolently on behalf of every sympathy I had. I’ve heard preachers suggest that. My prayers never told me that.
I’ve been praying for the faith of my friends and the healing of my dad, who is really suffering from Lyme disease that’s getting worse every day.
Near the heart of my hope for my friends’ faith is that I hope that God loves them, even though I don’t understand what they’re going through, or why it is, or how to preserve them from being blunted by cynicism.. We can’t relate.
Near the heart of my prayers for my dad, I don’t want him to hurt, and be hurt, and maybe die before our relationship can be healed or come to a closure that I can deal with.
God’s helping to point things like this out to me, helping me see and understand and accept my own selfishness, fearfulness, and lack of forgiveness… It helps me, not to feel like a child asking “why?” when I don’t get what I want, by a miracle or a deus ex machina.
And if He DID do one for me, what could I say about the first part of my life – why didn’t He save me from committing sins against Him and against others, if he could stop the world to heal a disease?
I don’t think it makes sense to ask God to reward my selfishness and correct my mistakes in life with miracles – God’s plan seems, as far as I can tell, to be Grace, and not miracles that sustain me and the people I love while we’re on Earth.
Who knows? Maybe it’s better for my soul that I lose loved ones, deal with rejection and other people’s hurt, and live life.. Can I doubt that God is not offering my friends and family Grace? My dad says He does. I can’t control that any more than I could stop it or take Grace for myself..
I think that asking God to prove Himself faithful to us because we are faithful to Him, especially when it fails, makes no sense – I don’t feel that I’m honest enough with myself about who I really am, about who He knows me to be, to listen to Jesus, even if He did explain Himself to me.. I’d probably get mad and accuse Him of being cruel for not doing things My way. Am I going to twist His arm into healing my dad or blessing my friends with His peace just because we can both agree that
I’mfaithful and that He is Great and that it seems like it would be a nice thing for either of us to do?Sorry if this comes out strangely.