Do You Believe In the Supernatural?

Do you believe in the supernatural? My guess is that most who read this would respond in the affirmative. There is more to this life than just the tangible stuff we absorb with our senses. We attempt to act as if the supernatural is real. We pray and we sing praises to a Being that is a bit beyond our cognitive abilities. Many accept the Scriptures as a revelation from this supernatural Being and that He desires for us to have a relationship with Him, not just an awareness of His existence. Belief in the supernatural has been around from the very beginning, from the time man first entered the world. The supernatural has had its influence upon every culture and society at some point in time. For those who hold a belief in Yahweh and His Son, Messiah Jesus, the supernatural should be an understood reality of daily life. The wonder of the supernatural should pervade our normal routine activities, making them anything but normal and routine. However, for many of us that is not the case. Life can, indeed, become very routine and seem boringly predictable. Should we just accept the norm and live that way? If we really do have a personal relationship with a supernatural God it seems that life should be more.    

When we look to the Word of God and read the accounts of the people there, life has a greater vibrancy than what we often experience. From God coming to walk in the garden in search of Adam to His conversation with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, David and the ongoing list of interactions with the people of God. Those in Scripture see a connection between God and much of the normalcy of life. If there is a drought the question is asked of some supernatural involvement. The kings and prophets wondered if God was communicating to them through these natural events. Now I know that we live in a fallen world and that Paul tells us in Romans 8:22, " the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now," so some of what we see is the evidence of the weight of sin on creation. However, is it wise to chalk everything that happens around us to just be rationally explained away?

Our culture is Greek by nature. We are steeped in rational thought. Our search for understanding leads us to believe that everything can be explained if we just understand the facts or the underlying scientific principals behind things. Storms are explained to us through charts and diagrams and computer models so we understand why they form and how they may track. The same is true for earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. We can come up with a rational explanation for it all. We can even enter vast amounts of data into our computer programs and produce a computer model of what the climate will be one thousand years from now. It can all be explained if we just have enough data. The same is true for illness and economics. We have evolved to a point where the supernatural has little to do with ordinary life. Rationalism has become our answer to the unknown and unexplainable. Just give us a little more time and we can figure it out.

The challenge for those who believe in a supernatural God Who reveals Himself to us is to maintain balance. Accepting, even anticipating, the supernatural in our day to day lives while also knowing  the simple truth that world events can have natural explanations. We do not need to proclaim Gods judgement after every storm (and often the claim that the end of the world is at hand). God does not punish people with cancer and illness. That is one thing we can learn from Job. On the other hand I give a nod to President Trump for his proclamation for a national day of prayer on September 3, 2017 in response to the devastating hurricane that crippled southern Texas. A call to ask for help from the Supernatural One was refreshing in the midst of our rational explanations of colliding atmospheric conditions.

I have known people who saw the supernatural in everything. Usually giving credit, or perhaps blame, to the devil and his demons for everything from insomnia to "stolen" parking spaces. Every sniffle needed to be prayed over and every good dental check up was a victory over the cavity demon. They found the books by Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness, and Piercing the Darkness) to be close to inspired texts rather than works of fiction. By the way, they are an interesting read and do remind us that there is an unseen supernatural world around us. Just remember they are fiction and you do not need to start praying for the good angels to win. I believe God has that covered. My point is that we tend to swing to extremes. There is honest danger in seeing supernatural warfare consuming every moment of your life. However, there is also danger in living in a rational world. We can fail to see God's warnings. We can miss opportunities to give Him praise or be encouraged to pray.

I have had more than a few incredibly close calls while driving. I am sure that diagrams could be drawn and an understanding of physics and kinetic energy could explain my survival. However, some of those instances left me with a intangible feeling of a presence beyond the rational. An emotional adrenaline rush? Perhaps, or it really was a touch of the supernatural? In truth all these things we see as rational explanations simply highlight the hand of the supernatural. Wind currents, high pressure systems, physics, all those rational computer programs are based on discovering what has always been there. Placed in motion by an intelligent, supernatural designer. One could argue the point; however, the rational thinker knows that the possibility of such complex systems evolving from nowhere is a significant leap of faith.

We are surrounded by the supernatural. From creation, to protection, to weather reminders that we are not in control. We have the opportunity every day to see the hand of God among us.  Let creation proclaim His wonder. Be honestly thankful for His daily protection. If you drive in New York any day without someone driving into your car it is pretty much an act of God. The food we enjoy, the sights that we see, even the technology we employ has a foundation in the hand of the supernatural if we see it.  Don't let your rational thoughts rob you of knowing His supernatural presence. As Francis Schaffer wrote, He is there and He is not silent, the question is, are we listening?