Transcending the natural, into the supernatural

What is the meaning of supernatural? Beyond nature. Beyond scientific understanding. Out of the ordinary. Exceptional. Unusual. How many times do we come across the supernatural? Each time a supernatural event happens and it is broadcast, reactions differ. Some are curious. Some doubt. Some believe. Some are cynical. Yet, every day of our lives, we live in the supernatural, without acknowledging it. We breathe. We eat food and it is digested and turned into another state that our bodies can process and use for sustenance. I have never seen anyone doubt that the food they eat will be digested and utilized without their personal intervention. We believe that is natural and expected.

We go to sleep with the belief that we will wake up the next day and go about our normal business. Although some sleep and don’t wake up. When such happens, we remember that it is unusual. We ask questions.

We often take the supernatural for granted. There is an assumption in our minds that life is natural. That it is only those different and unique events that happen infrequently that are supernatural. But this is not true. All of life is supernatural. Because we do not live these lives alone. There is another world not seen with human eyes, where events are determined. Decisions are taken in that realm that affect everything happening here. So when Mr. A wakes up in the morning and Mr. B doesn’t, it is because that was the plan.

From before we were born, there was a plan for our conception and our lives. Who will our parents be? What will be our nationality? Will we have siblings or not? What will we do with our lives? What career, what schools, what gender? So when we arrive on the earth, we start to play out the script.

It is interesting to look back and realise some of the things we said as kids, coming true in our adult lives. Why would Child A love reading and Child B doesn’t? Ask a child, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and you get various answers. For some of them, they are so sure that the passion is already evident in the way they are interested in things. My son always loved football. Right from the time he could walk, he would kick around my onions and potatoes I left out to dry. Of course, he didn’t know it was called football at the time, but he just enjoyed kicking things around.

There are many supernatural things that happen around us daily. We ignore them because we don’t have answers for them. We don’t have explanations. We don’t have proof that can be defended.

Why did some people ‘miss’ the 911 accident for some ‘flimsy’ reasons and some did not?

Where do the promptings we get regularly in the course of our day come from?

Why do we dream? Why do some dreams feel so real and later you see them coming to pass?

Why do we have déjà vu?

Why am I raising all these questions?

The supernatural is always around us and it points to one fact for me, which is that God is here. We are not alone. He still remains the Governor among the nations. The One Who sits above the circle of the earth, the Ruler in the affairs of men.

As I sit and ponder about my life, I recall many events that have happened and while they could have been written off as coincidence at the time, I realise now that they were ‘God-incidences’. The hand of God directing my steps and putting things in place according to His perfect plan for my life. I wish the plan were very straight forward; like, go straight, travel for a thousand miles and you arrive. As God would have it, the journey is anything but straight. There are corners, turns, hills, valleys, tunnels, mountains, rivers etc. It is in that journey that we confront the supernatural. Sometimes, it is very subtle. Sometimes it is so obvious that you can’t but acknowledge Him. You share testimonies. You can’t wait to tell your story to the next person. ‘Come hear what happened to me!’

God is involved in every life and has a plan for every person, whether or not we acknowledge Him. Sometimes when we go through dark alleys and we feel so alone, bereft, unconnected and lonely, God is there. He keeps quiet, you wouldn’t even know or feel His presence. Those are the times He hides. God hides. (Isaiah 45:15) He hides so that we can find Him. If you have played hide and seek before, you know that the trick is not to give up searching until you find the one you’re looking for. If you give up before finding them, then you lose the game.

We are not meant to give up. The good thing is, He wants us to find Him. He is happy to give us hints. So we see His shadow here and there. We see His handiwork. We hear His voice. So we know the general direction of where He is. We experience the supernatural and we remember that He is still alive and on the throne, governing our lives, governing the nations.

If we keep searching, the hints are clearer, louder and more discernible, until we turn the corner and there He is! He is there, waiting to hug us and say ‘Well done!’ But don’t get carried away, before you know it, He’s hiding again and the chase starts over. But, what joy and celebration at the first find! That is what gives the motivation to search again. You know that when you find Him, the joy is unspeakable and lasting!

So, don’t ignore the supernatural around you. Acknowledge the handiwork of God. Thank Him for it. And seek Him too. He can only be found by those who do.