Miracle in the Mess

In 2nd Corinthians 4, we can read about God's faithfulness, even though we are tried, even when we
encounter suffering:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

I think a central theme here is that God is working, even though we may not recognize it.  We can become so focused on the negative circumstances that we are facing that we fail to see that God has a positive outcome in mind; positive in the sense that it brings Him glory!  Even when there is tragedy, we can concentrate on the purpose that He wants to bring out of it.  In our suffering, we can know the One who suffered for us , so that His character and His hand can be revealed.

+++++

In 2nd Corinthians 6, Paul encourages the reader to look for the evidence of God's hand, even when things don't necessarily progress the way we think they should.  He writes in verse 4, "But in all
things we commend ourselves as ministers of God...," and then begins to list negative and positive circumstances. Beginning in verse 8, he writes:
8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;
9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

As our hearts are heavy and minds reeling about the sheer terror of dozens losing their lives in Las Vegas in a sniper shooting there, and, as I'll discuss in our news segment about the church shooting last week in Nashville, we can certainly think about the troubled world in which we're living.

But, in the midst of violence, we can certainly be encouraged by acts of courage and miraculous events that have the potential to occur in these manifestations of a fallen world.   Such a story surrounds the attack on members of Congress at a baseball practice for the annual Congressional baseball game in Washington this summer.

A gunman went to the site, and opened fire on these lawmakers as they began their practice.  Fortunately, no one was killed in the attack, and a limited number of Congressman received injuries; most of them minor.

The injuries sustained by Steve Scalise, the Majority Whip, the #3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, were quite severe.  Those injuries kept Scalise on the bench, legislatively speaking, until last week, when he returned to address his fellow lawmakers.  According to the Hello Christian website, Scalise was "testifying to God's goodness and the impact of prayer in his recovery." The article states that:

As he was lying wounded on the field, Scalise said he began to pray and experienced "an unbelievable sense of calm, knowing that at that point it was God's hands."

He continued:

"And I will tell you, pretty much every one of those prayers was answered. He really did deliver for me and my family and it just gives you that renewed faith in understanding that the power of prayer is something you just cannot underestimate."

"So, I am definitely a living example that miracles really do happen."

He talked about the Capitol police officers: "One of the things I prayed for is that David and Crystal would be successful in carrying out their duties."

Scalise stated: "It's only strengthened my faith in God and it's really crystalized what shows up as the goodness in people. I got to see the goodness in people..."

Last night, Scalise appeared on 60 Minutes on CBS, and in the 60 Minutes Overtime section of the CBS website, the House member is quoted; he said: "We call 'em little miracles," adding, "You know, if one of 'em doesn't happen, I'm probably not here."

He talked about the groundskeeper who locked the gate to the field the night before the practice, limiting the gunman's access to the lawmakers.  Because he had a security detail with him by virtue of his position, that provided extra protection.  And, one of his fellow Congressmen, Rep. Brad Westrup, a former combat surgeon, was there to craft a tourniquet for Scalise.  Coincidences?  I would say hardly.

It's certainly a story of hope in the midst of tragedy.  And, I think we do well to look for and listen to those stories of hope, even stories of God's hand in the midst of difficulty.  It's so easy to get caught up in the gruesome details of the incidents that occur; but, we can be inspired by what God is doing in the midst of it.  Because the world is evil and fallen, we know that the Lord does not prevent all tragedy, but can work triumph in the midst of it.

Many would want to point to suffering as a proof of God's absence, but we can be confident that He is acquainted with it and not absent when we are suffering.  We can be inspired to reach out and call out to God when we are facing desperate times.  In the messes of life, the miraculous is certainly possible when faith is expressed.

We can acknowledge that in all things, God has a bigger plan.  His ways are higher than our own, and He desires to be glorified, in stark contrast to the futility of human activity.  We do serve a miracle-working God, and we can be hopeful that because we serve a God who is great and powerful, He will show up in ways that are inexplicable in the realm of human understanding.