Have you ever yawned at one of God’s miracles?
I have.
Sounds sacreligious? Dangerous even? Like lightning-bolt-enducing dangerous? Well, it’s a lot more common than you might think. And it’s actually very easy to do. In fact, many biblical characters have done it. Including those we consider spiritual giants: Moses (Exodus 3 & 4). Yup. The entire nation of Israel (Exodus 32). David (2 Samuel 11 & 12). That’s right. Peter, too (Luke 4:38,39). I could go on and on, till the break o’ dawn!
What did all these veritable sleepy heads have in common? When God did something super dee duper, something that doesn’t happen every day, or ever, for that matter, all these knuckle heads did was look at it, and keep on going. No pause for celebration. No monument to the moment. No declaration of a special, annual day of observation. No holiday. Not even a plaque. They just moved on and let the moment pass, in violation of the very purpose of the moment: to be remembered by people forever (Psalm 111:4).
As amazing as God is, it’s easy to begin to take all that miracle working power for granted. When we begin to expect the spectacular, after a while the spectacular becomes routine. And the routine gets taken for granted. And our response to the routine becomes condensed, perfunctory. We save the fireworks and the band for something really outstanding, and yawn at the amazing-spectacular-routine stuff. Amazing-spectacular-routine stuff like getting healed of that headache-ulcer-disease-cancer, or getting the money to pay that bill-note-mortgage-hospital, or having the door blasted open on that opportunity-internship-job-career-presidency. Man, it’s a tough gig being God.
I’m tired of yawning at miracles. I’ve decided that I’ll make myself praise God for every wonderful, amazing, spectacular, routine act. When my flesh wants me to yawn at the mighty acts of God, I will stir up my spirit to praise God for what God has done. The flesh is harder to amaze than the spirit. The flesh will yawn in God’s face the way Phaoroh’s magicians did after Moses’ first three miracles (Exodus 7 & 8). We must rise above our flesh through our spirit and praise God with full band and fireworks for every wonderful act! And if I catch you yawning, I’m gonna stick a spoon in your mouth! 😉
