I have always been in awe of supernatural transcendence in the Bible. This has happened in several ways on a number of occasions. An example that comes to mind for me is the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, which transcends languages. When I read things such as this, it is very difficult to see how they fit into the real world. However, in 2013, a mission trip to Moldova changed this for me forever. I was invited to Moldova for 17 days to preach the Gospel and teach English to a group of people who were mainly Russian Orthodox Christians in a summer camp. Looking back, I could see where God’s spiritual transcendence was.
I went with a group of people from the charity UCCF. It was my first time on a mission trip, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I am not going to say that there weren’t any challenges. There were differences in beliefs to start with, as some of the young people at the camp believed it was necessary to pay for prayer to be able to receive it correctly. There were differences in languages, as people in Moldova normally speak a combination of Romanian and Russian. I of course spoke English. There were differences in culture. Moldova was at the time, and still is one of the poorest countries in Europe and it was very difficult for us not to be treated as this “higher class of people.”
But God is always good, and if it is his plan, it will always prevail. This was where I saw transcendence in so many ways. I saw God transcending languages. It didn’t matter that they barely understood a word we said most of the time. As soon as the Bible came out, this changed things. I saw God transcend culture. Gradually over the time we were there, we were able to understand each other better and relate to one another more.
The truth is, that God transcended the challenges in the mission trip because without him, we wouldn’t have stood a chance at succeeding.
Has God ever transcended his power through your situation? Where have you seen the spirit work before to fulfil God’s purpose?