Super Natural
Posted by Dion Todd October 8th, 2023 3,630 Views 0 Comments
Super Natural from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I love seeing Him do miracles. Yet, the heavy work of God in my life has happened so naturally that you wouldn't notice it: super natural. Sometimes, I would get laid off from one job because He wanted me somewhere else, and I didn't understand until later. I wouldn't even be in ministry today if the Lord had not first closed our computer business.
(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
"All things" includes some things that are not very pleasant at all when you are living through them. Consider Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, who wore his "robe of many colors" his dad had given him. His brothers were so jealous they hated him.
(Genesis 37:5–8 NKJV) Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf." And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
The Lord gave Joseph that dream, and there would come a day when his brothers would bow to him. But it wasn't that day... His brothers caught him alone in the field and sold him as a slave to some traveling merchants who were on their way to Egypt. They took his robe of many colors, covered it in animal blood, and gave it to his father, Jacob, to convince him that a wild animal had killed Joseph and eaten him.
Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of the guard in Egypt, and became his favorite employee. The Lord was with Joseph, and Potiphar placed him in charge of everything.
(Genesis 39:2–4 NKJV) The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
Potiphar's wife took a liking to Joseph and tried to seduce him, but he refused. She persisted. One day, he was in the house with her alone, and she grabbed his robe and tried to drag him into bed with her, but he ran out of his robe and out of the house. Now, we tend to give Joseph a lot of credit for that, but in all honesty, we don't know what that woman looked like. When Potiphar got home, she told him that Joseph had tried to rape her, and Joseph was thrown in prison.
(Genesis 39:20–23 NKJV) Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
The Lord was with Joseph in prison and caused whatever he did to prosper. He became the warden's favorite and was in charge of all the inmates. Joseph was wrongfully sold into slavery, wrongfully accused of rape, yet the Lord was with him wherever he found himself.
Joseph used his gifts in prison and interpreted dreams for Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker. Two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams of his own that no one could interpret, so the cupbearer told him about Joseph. They brought Joseph out of prison, and he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh. He was impressed:
(Genesis 41:38–40 NKJV) And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you."
So, at thirty years old, Joseph became the manager of Egypt, and during a famine, his brothers came to buy food and bowed down before him. Joseph's dream came to pass, but what a road to get there. Natural-looking occurrences guided Joseph to where he needed to be, but it was God's hand bringing them. They weren't all pleasant experiences either, but they were necessary to prepare him for what was coming.
(Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
We would like Him to explain His plan to us and show us our path, but I usually find one door closes and another opens, and it has His invisible fingerprints on it. I was once laid off as a supervisor for an international construction company, and my next job was polishing brass plumbing parts at a buffing wheel for one-third of the pay. I didn't consider that a promotion when it happened. Yet, after fasting and praying about it, I absolutely knew that is where He wanted me.
Looking back, I can put together some pieces of the puzzle. The supervisor position required me to talk to a crew of men all day, but buffing plumbing parts at a machine allowed me to listen to an audio Bible all day undisturbed. I used to have to work twelve hours a day on Sunday. The new job was Monday to Friday, 5:30 A.M. to 2 P.M. So it allowed me to go to church on Sunday, and I had time to start attending Bible College at night.
It was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me, for that season, He saturated me with His word and presence. I was going through the Bible every three days, and at one point, you could start nearly any verse, and I could finish it. It was life-changing. Yet, everything happened so naturally.
My brother would come to the workplace from time to time. I would be as black as smut from the compounds and slightly green from the brass dust, and he would ask me, "Dion, what are you doing in this place?" I would just laugh and say, "This is where the Lord wants me right now."
Months passed by, and I was buffing away one day and listening to the Bible as usual when I felt something like oil being poured over my head. I thought someone was pranking me and spun around to look, but there was no one there. I felt my head, and it was dry. Yet, something changed spiritually that day, and things became exciting after that. The Lord had anointed me.
A revival broke out around me. People were saved, and not just at work. I played music with a band at night to help pay my way through college, and I saw people saved there. At work, I was promoted to the manager. People would come up to me and say, "I want what you have," and I would lead them to the Lord. There was such a hunger for the word of God that people started borrowing all my Bible CDs until we just played them over the intercom system. When I went to church, I filled my entire row with guests who came with me.
Yet, there were not many "jaw-dropping miracles." Just a lot of divine favor with being in the right place, at the right time, with the right things to say. It was super natural.
Begin to see that the Lord is with you wherever you are. If you are in prison like Joseph, so is the Lord. Be happy and include Him in whatever you are doing. Do all things as if you were doing them for the Lord. If you have a job sweeping the floor, try to be the best floor sweeper in the world. Listen to the Word all you can. A job ending merely means "promotion is coming." So don't panic. The Lord has to remove the old before He can replace it with something new.
You can pray this with me if you like:
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for another day. Please draw my heart to You, put me where I need to be, and let me see the world through Your eyes. Direct my paths and help me be in tune with what You are doing today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!