Monday, 08 February 2010

• How Daily Miracles Become Mundane

  How in the world could a miracle be considered mundane? We associate miracles with what is astonishing- with what is amazing or staggering as we find ourselves utterly astounded, dumbfounded and/or flabbergasted by a particular event in our lives. It is a moment that is frozen forever in our memories, a moment totally unforgettable- one that inevitably stirs renewed wonder and awe as we again internally replay those vivid images of that astounding experience. But mundane, dull or ho-hum ordinary? Never!  Is it possible for a miracle to be so commonplace that we confuse it with the day-to-day, typical, unspectacular occurrences of our lives? It just doesn’t seem possible.

  This is precisely what took place with the Israelites.

  They had been swept out of the mighty grasp of Egypt and its powerful king, the Pharaoh. Yahweh’s hand had ushered the people of Israel (numbering at that time to well over two million) onto a dry path through the Red Sea with immense walls of water bunched up on either side. He then proceeded to destroy the king, daring to follow them with his army into that watery chasm. At the optimum moment, the vast mountains of water surged back into their place. Gone. Swept away forever! Before long, the people of Israel stood at the foot of the mountain of God in Sinai where they received His law in a spectacularly unforgettable display of His divine majesty.

  Into the wilderness the people traveled and it should not have surprised anyone of Yahweh’s continuing care for His people as He provided food "raining down" from Heaven. This manna (literally: "What is it?") looking like a white coriander seed and tasting "like wafers made with honey" (Exodus 16:31), settled with the dew each morning. The people found it a versatile food they could ground or crush and make into cakes to be baked or cooked in a pot (Numbers 11:7). This bread of Heaven was a daily miracle- every day, except the Sabbath, and so it was necessary to gather a double portion the day before. Yahweh sent His life sustaining bread from Heaven for the entire forty years that the Israelites trekked through the wilderness South and East of Palestine.

  Through the course of time- it couldn’t have been very long (see the account in Numbers 11:1-6)- God’s consistent giving of the manna became ‘old hat’ to the people of Israel and they began to complain: "Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt- and got it free!- to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; All we get is manna, manna, manna!"  Numbers 11:5-6 [MSG].

  Hard to believe- eh? But really, is it? For the Israelites, the daily miracle of manna was no longer enough- it had become so ho-hum for them. They longed for what was a complete impossibility- an altogether safe and peaceful return to Egypt (consider their totally subservient existence in that land and the circumstances of their departure with the death of the firstborn in every Egyptian family). They wanted the fish, melons, leeks and onions of that land without the violence and certain death that awaited them if they returned.

  We are not at all unlike the people of Israel. If nothing else, grace (favor not deserved) from God our Father, is a daily miracle. And as I reflect back over a period of time in my life to recall the specific moments when I was completely aware of His hand at work, I am astounded!  Then, add to that (No!– multiply) the events in which I am only vaguely aware of or those in which I haven’t a clue, and I should be even more in awe than I am! It is so profoundly difficult for us to be convinced that our great God is intimately involved every single day in the mundane (the commonplace) events of our lives, but He is!

  It is insidious but certain, you know, that the mundaneness of life invisibly and quietly seeps into our spiritual sensitivities. It happens, so that we begin to view God’s gracious dealings with us not as the wondrous precious experiences that they are, but just ordinary, typical and routine incidents along with everything else that transpires in our everyday lives.

  And we are tempted to do one of two things:

  There is the very great tendency to ‘see’ God’s hand in every single instance of our existence-We make every experience a miracle of God. Everything becomes ‘so awesome’ that even those authentic moments (in which God’s hand is at work) are emptied of their majesty and wonder.

  Or-

  Like Israel, we permit the daily miracles of God to become so ordinary and commonplace, that we no longer have an appetite for them. We long for the truly impossible- for the stupendous  to sate our hunger for excitement and stimulation. And in this, we fail to understand that it’s what God does quietly behind-the-scenes in our everyday lives that truly keeps us alive. Like, Israel, our failure to see that a return to ‘Egypt’ where everything is so exciting, means certain death!

  It is so vital that we not despise the mundaneness of daily miracles- that we cultivate an appetite/an appreciation that is able to ‘see’  God’s hand in our lives even when we cannot see  His hand at work in our lives! As Paul said: "We live by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthinans 5:7).

  Have you ever taken God's miracles for granted? Have you felt that things have just become mundane? What are your experiences?
  

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