Devotion by Rev. Gene McCallips

To many persons in current society, it might seem that anyone suggesting that there is a God and that he is faithful to his promises, must be some kind of a religious fanatic or at least a preacher who makes his or her own living off the delusions of simple folk. I must admit that when I was in my teens, I too thought that trusting God was something like fairy tales that didn’t always have a good ending. Later as a young adult I came to the end of all of what I thought were my strengths. I came to a point of realizing that I could not in myself for any and every set of circumstances that can arise in a person’s life. I humbly took a knee in the living room of my apartment and asked Jesus Christ to take control of a life that was broken in so many ways. My trust in my intellectual and physical gifts had failed me and now I looked to a higher power that I had hoped was there for some time—but whom I could not name. The good news was that God did not ask me to clean up my act completely on day one—he loved me just as I was. In response to that transformative love, I wanted to live to please him!

As a new Christ follower, I realized that most of my negative impressions of “church” people had come from a lack of exposure—that it was, in effect, a different form of prejudice and bias. I began to trust God for simple things and even a few much, much larger decisions that I knew that I had to make. I grew haltingly at times—three steps forward and four steps back. Thankfully I was nurtured by those who had both wisdom and patience. And as a result, my faith in God grew steadily because I was in a community of faith that valued relationships and gradual growth over outright performance. 

Years later, I would sit beside the Rev. David Wilkerson of “The Cross and the Switchblade” fame. I was serving at the time on the Board of the Harrisburg, PA Teen Challenge center on Front Street. The occasion was a graduation ceremony at The PA Teen Challenge Center in Rehrersburg, PA. To say the least, I was more than a bit nervous. I wanted to show this great man of faith whom God had used so powerfully that I too was a man of faith. Heaven provided the perfect opportunity when storm clouds began to gather to the west.

Now if you’re familiar with Berks County in PA, you will know that when storms get captured in the glacial mountain valleys of the Commonwealth that they rarely turn around. I noted the clouds to the great man of faith and uttered the words: Well, David, I believe that the Lord will make that storm dissipate before it gets here to these holy grounds”. Imagine my surprise when Wilkerson matter-of-factly said, “I think we’re gonna get drenched, Gene!” I was crest-fallen and absolutely slack-jawed. Was he putting down my faith? Nope, he was just being a good observer of the laws of nature put into place by our Creator! It didn’t just rain—it poured and I never saw David Wilkerson again!

So, what’s the lesson? Does God still do miracles? Absolutely, I have witnessed many genuine sovereign miracles performed by God’s hand. But he also works within the laws of nature that he alone constructed and placed into operation. And most, importantly, we need to be aware when we are using God’s name and reputation to simply show-off and exalt ourselves rather than God.