Living a supernatural life isn’t guaranteed.
My life used to be a whole lot more supernatural. Supernatural healings. Angels. Demons. Dreams. Visions. Miracles. Ridiculous answers to prayer. In other words, my life used to be a whole lot more biblical. I’ve often wondered what happened to all that. It’s not like I woke up one day and chose a lesser life in place of the miraculously charged one. Or did I?
In the absence of genuine, biblically scaled miracles, we redefine a miracle as anything wonderful that happens. A baby being born? That’s a miracle. A sunset? Miracle. These things truly are wonderful, and wouldn’t happen apart from the sustaining work of God, but a miracle is a supernatural intervention. I dare you to find a place in the Bible where something so natural is dubbed as supernatural. You won’t find it.
Living a supernatural life: The commitment
Awhile back, God turned turned up the heat—opening my heart and mind to grand truths and visions, answering prayers in magnificent ways, challenging me to exercise my faith. I started seeing miracles again. My life took on a distinctly supernatural tone, and re-tasting this God-rich lifestyle prompted me to pen a bold statement in my journal:
“I refuse to live anything less than a supernatural life.”
Living a supernatural life: What the Bible says
Then I stopped. Was I allowed to say that? Was that biblical? It didn’t take long for God to convince me that declaring anything less was “holding to a form of godliness, but denying its power” (I Timothy 3:5). Here are just a few of the verses I grabbed hold of. I’ll string them together for compounded effect:
“The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power. The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
“(The Lord) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
(I Corinthians 4:20, Romans 8:11, John 14:12, Mark 11:24, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 19:26, Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 12:9,10, II Corinthians 2:14, I John 5:4). There are a hundred more where these came from.
What living a supernatural life is—and isn’t
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying miracles happen because we try harder. I’m saying miracles happen when we put our faith in a God who is always at work in miraculous ways. “So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?” I’m saying it’s time to believe what we just heard. To choose it by faith as a way of life, not because the power to do so is latent in us, but because it’s freely offered by God through Jesus Christ.
- I choose to saturate my soul with supernatural truths.
- I choose to take supernatural risks.
- I choose to pray supernatural prayers.
- I choose to embrace God’s supernatural vision for my life and for this day before me.
- I choose to depend on Christ’s supernatural power.
- I refuse to live anything less than a supernatural life empowered by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in me. I intend to let God take back the ground I’ve lost.
Back to my question: Did I choose a beige life without power? Yes, though not on purpose. As it turns out, I gradually “un-chose” the supernatural work of God, one lazy step at a time. Lazy theology. Lazy devotion. Lazy discipleship. Lord Jesus, I praise you for this new start. Don’t let me do that again.
This is my regular prayer: – Father God
Grant me the knowledge of Your will in every situation that I find myself in.
Grant me the courage to obey, whatever the consequences may seem to be.
Grant me wisdom, to better understand people and situations.
Grant me humility, to better know my true state, ignoring praise and insult, success and failure, accusation and commendation, rumour and gossip.
Grant that love will be the motivation for all my words and actions.
Grant me ALL the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, that I might bring healing, deliverance and encouragement to those around me.
God has been teaching me the way of humility, the way that Christ took. I am learning to consider my self as nothing, so that all my confidence is in God. The result is somewhat frightening. Like being plugged into the cosmic mains. I still have a way to go, but expect God to act in me, through me and for me in miraculous ways.
Right on, bro! Great prayer.