Deeds or Ways?

Psalm 103:7 – “He made known His ways to Moses; his deeds to the people of Israel”.

This Psalm in particular is useful in helping us to remember the deeds of God in our lives, so we can bless His Name in all circumstances.

Several years ago, when I first committed to full-time service, I was pioneering a little village church, approx. 200 kms. away from Chennai. I usually went there on a Thursday evening … visited a few families on Fridays and on Saturdays – encouraged them and prayed with them & invited them to come to church on the Sunday; and send their kids, if any, to Sunday School.
After the service on Sunday evening, I would return back to Chennai. This happened for 6 months.

During one such visit, I saw this lady - a new believer, who was downcast. Upon inquiring, I found out that her only source of livelihood was gone – her calf was dead (which meant, the cow stopped giving milk – which she used to sell in the market).
I didn’t know what to say to her and how to comfort her. While I was thinking of something to say to her, she started speaking: “This incident taught me a valuable lesson to seek Him”.

I was perplexed & wanted to know more about how God spoke to her.

She began, “3 days ago, when I woke up in the morning to milk my cow, I saw the calf dead. My whole world came crashing down, as the cow wouldn’t let me milk her. And while I was sitting there, I suddenly remembered the Prayer Oil which you had given me; so I brought that and sprinkled a few drops on the dead calf and said, ‘Jesus, Jesus…’ – because I didn’t know what else to say in prayer. And within a few minutes, the calf sprang to life, and I was able to milk the cow and take it to the market and sell”.

I thought to myself, "this is a great story; in fact, it's a newsletter kind of a material - so, why is she sad!

After a brief pause, she continued: “In the evening, when I came to milk the cow, I saw the calf dead again. But this time I was not worried; I knew exactly what needs to be done. So, I went in and brought the oil and sprinkled on the dead calf and said, ‘Jesus, Jesus’ – nothing happened. I thought I am not saying it loud enough, but that didn’t work either. Perhaps, I didn’t sprinkle the right amount of oil – still no hint of the calf coming to life. While I kept trying different methods to apply and sprinkle the oil … suddenly, I felt someone saying something to me: ‘Don’t run after the blessings, but run after me – for I am the Blesser. When you have me, you will have ALL the benefits’.”

Wow – that was a revelation for me!

She went on, “I knew I was running after the blessings from God, hoping my calf would come back to life; but God was challenging me to seek Him, so I could have all the blessings & not just one I am after”.

That story truly encouraged me. I went there to encourage her, but I came back very encouraged and lifted up in my Spirit, by what had happened in her life; and a timeless principle which the Lord taught me through her.

Often we run after a miracle, we pray prayers to see or experience something which we are desperate for at that moment.
But do we run after God? When He comes He brings everything with Him. Not just what we are seeking for at that moment!

The verse before us here states just that: the people of Israel knew God’s deeds. Every time they needed to see a miracle they cried out and when it happened, it was a miracle – it was an act of God. Yes, they praised God, but quickly forgot about it also. Largely because they failed to see the God behind that miracle!

On the contrary, Moses knew His ways - in other words, he was caught up with a God, who performed all those miracles – so he was not fazed when confronted with a difficult situation.

The people grumbled because they did not experience God or learn that He is able to take them to the Promised Land, when the tough got going.

Do we want to experience His ways? Or do we want to settle for His deeds, once in a while?
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (cf. Isaiah 55:8), claims the Lord.

Let’s not settle for experiencing something small, when He is there to offer us Himself.
It’s a much richer experience, when we have Him.