Who Needs Iron Man When You Got Jesus?
Our society is obsessed with the supernatural. All one has to do is a quick review of box office successes and you will notice a long listing of Marvel movies or fantasy type adventures like the “Star Wars” or “Lord Of The Rings” series, etc. These are clear indicators that our culture is longing and thirsting for the supernatural in their lives. I believe this is a normal hunger placed in the soul of every person. Blaise Pascal describes this as such;
“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in a man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object, in other words by God himself.”
A few years ago, I went through the hardest time of my life that could rival any Hollywood blockbuster. I suffered the murder of a young man who served with us in our urban ministry followed by the death of a child from our neighborhood where we serve. In between these horrible events I had to deal with the suicide attempt of a family member and the death of my beloved dog. All of this took place within a span of three months.
Needless to say, it took a toll on my well being. In order to get my life together I was allowed a three-month sabbatical to recover. I pulled my children out of school, packed our bags and left Toronto in search of the supernatural power of God I sorely needed to get through these soul-draining tragedies. Only two days into our trip the sabbatical would come to a horrible end in a water accident that left me paralyzed from the neck down. At this point in my story you’re probably thinking to yourself; “What does all this have to do with the supernatural?”
Great question and here is my answer.
All throughout these tragedies God was with me each step of the way. I felt his presence as we grieved the tragic deaths of our friends while comforting their distraught families. It was a tough path to walk but we felt Christ’s tears mix with ours and felt the reality of God’s love all around us. We knew that our beloved friends were with Jesus.
When I was drowning in the ocean unable to move due to paralysis, I experienced God’s presence with me under those turbulent waves. When I was rescued from the roaring waters and gently placed on the sandy beach, I discovered that my rescuer was an emergency room doctor who specialized in surf injuries. He just happened to be on vacation at the very beach where I was paralyzed. When I was air vac’d by helicopter to the hospital, I later discovered I was the first one ever air vac’d from that side of the island as just two weeks before my accident the government allowed helicopter evacuations for emergency purposes.
When I got the results from my X-ray, I was told the damage to my neck showed that the wave pummelled me straight down onto the ocean floor in a perfect 90% angle thus limiting the break. The doctors were amazed as they said that if my body had been at any other angle my neck would have snapped off. I was told I’d never walk normal again and would not have the use of my hands.
Yet, as the weeks passed in my recovery my therapists called me the walking miracle and today, I’m pretty well healed. All of these so-called coincidences cannot be luck. They point to something far bigger — God’s supernatural presence in our lives!
This is the greatest supernatural reality I encountered in everything I went through — God is with us right here and right now. All you need to do is plug into his supernatural presence.
After all, who needs Iron Man when you got Jesus!
About
