When We Step Out God Steps InSample

A crisis is a miracle in disguise

Outside the city, there were four men with leprosy (7:3). They were in a worse position than anyone else. Old Testament law said that people with leprosy must be separated from the community (Leviticus 13:45-46), so they had to live alone, probably in some kind of lean-to hut outside the city wall or in a rough cave in the hillside. They were caught between two forces. In the city, they would probably be killed by their own people; if they stayed where they were, they would probably be killed by the Syrians, assuming they didn’t starve to death. In any case, they were still suffering from leprosy, and in those days, there was no recognised cure.

Leprosy in the Bible is a symbol of sin. Many people are beset by sin and simply have nowhere to turn. Sin is such a deadly, dreadful thing that there is nothing we can do to overcome it. People try many things—New Year’s resolutions, reformation programmes, self-help books, New Age thinking, enigmatic religions, ‘miracle’ cures—but none of these can solve the deadly leprosy of sin. Only the blood of Jesus can do that (1 John 1:9).

A crisis, a desperate position, is simply a miracle in disguise. The truth is, if we don’t have a crisis, we will never see a miracle. If we don’t have a dilemma, we will never experience deliverance. If there is no disaster, there is nothing to be delivered from.

Many people want a resurrection life, but before being raised with Christ, we must be crucified with Christ. Without dying, we can’t be raised. And we can’t be healed if we are not sick. Of course, you don’t have to make yourself sick so that you can be healed. There is not much point in that. But the fact is that healing is only for sick people.

Crises, disasters, dilemmas—these are actually miracles in disguise. Sometimes we become ill or endure extreme pain. Or, we find ourselves falling into sin again. Maybe our church is in a boggy situation. We find ourselves in life faced with constant disappointment or with depression or fear. We tend to focus on those things. We see them as problems, as dilemmas, as crises. But remember that a crisis is a miracle in disguise.

We must look beyond the crisis and see what is beyond on the other side. The other side is a potential miracle, a potential deliverance, a potential salvation. The point of despair or disillusion is the very point where God can step in and do something in our lives.

So don’t despair when you face despair. That may sound naive, but it’s true. Even amid the worst problem, God is there.

What next?

Think of an apparently impossible situation that you or a loved one are facing right now. How can you rename it? Read Matthew 17:20; Luke 8:52; John 11:4.