How to Respond to God Beyond What Seems Natural

When a situation calls for a practical step, does that leave room for God to do something supernatural? And when the natural answer looks impossible, can you still expect Him to act?

Faith doesn't require you to ignore what is in front of you. God can work through ordinary action while doing what no person could arrange. In this episode of Hardness of Heart, Andrew Wommack shows how to respond with both practical action and expectation toward God.

The earlier posts in this series look at what happens when faith seems not to work and how amazement can reveal a hardened heart. This episode takes that teaching into everyday decisions and asks what a heart focused only on natural explanations can expect.

How did Peter combine action with God's provision?

In Matthew 17, tax collectors asked Peter whether Jesus paid the temple tax. Jesus told Peter to go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the first fish. A coin in its mouth would cover the tax for both of them.

The coin was made by people and dropped into the water. The fish found it. Peter still had to take a hook, go to the sea, and cast it in. God arranged what Peter could not arrange, while Peter acted on Jesus' instruction.

Jesus' instruction was specific: “Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (Matthew 17:27, NKJV).

Peter didn't make the coin appear, and the coin didn't remove the need for him to act. He followed Jesus' direction, and God's provision met him there. The natural step and the supernatural provision belonged in the same answer. Faith can act on what God says while trusting Him for what only He can do.

Can you trust God and still receive practical care?

Andrew says, “I am not against doctors.” He tells of a man driving a concrete nail into concrete. The nail broke, bounced off the concrete, and stuck in the man's eye. He came to Andrew bleeding and in terrible pain.

Andrew prayed. The bleeding stopped and the pain left instantly. The man looked normal, but the nail still stuck out of his eye. Andrew told him, “I believe that God has healed you, but we got to get that nail out of your eye.” He asked whether the man wanted him to pull it out or would rather go to a doctor. The man chose a doctor.

God's power and practical steps worked together in the account. The pain and bleeding stopped when Andrew prayed, and the nail still needed to be removed by someone who knew what they were doing. Trusting God did not keep the man from taking the next practical step.

People can limit God to natural means. Faith grows through exercise in ordinary situations, rather than beginning only when a problem seems beyond every human answer. Andrew compares it to lifting weights: if you can't lift five pounds, you won't be ready to lift a hundred. Expecting God to help in small things builds confidence to trust Him when the need is greater.

How can a hardened heart limit what you expect?

In Mark 6, Jesus sent the disciples across the lake. A storm came up, and they strained at the oars against the wind. Jesus came to them walking on the water. He had sent them across, knew what they were facing, and came to meet them in a way no natural effort could produce.

Earlier, the disciples had helped distribute food when Jesus fed a crowd. They had seen provision in their own hands. Yet when the storm came, their attention fixed on the wind and the boat. Mark explains their amazement after Jesus got into the boat: “For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:52, NKJV).

A hardened heart fixes on natural explanations and loses sight of what God has already done. The disciples had rowed as hard as they could, but the storm was not the whole story. Jesus had told them to cross the lake. They could have expected Him to meet them there, even if the way He came was beyond what they thought possible.

Natural action did not mean they lacked faith. The problem was letting the natural situation define all they could expect. Remembering God's provision keeps the heart open to His next act.

Why did Pharaoh ask the frogs to stay until tomorrow?

Exodus 8 describes frogs filling Egyptian homes, beds, ovens, and kneading troughs. Pharaoh asked Moses to entreat the Lord to take the frogs away. Moses asked when, and Pharaoh answered, “Tomorrow.”

Pharaoh could have asked for immediate relief, but he chose to wait while frogs were everywhere. A hardened heart can distort judgment until a person doesn't respond reasonably to what is right in front of them. Pharaoh saw the signs, asked for relief, and then returned to resistance when the pressure passed.

The pattern continued after Israel left Egypt. Pharaoh pursued them to the Red Sea, though Egypt had already been devastated by the plagues. Israel was trapped in a valley, with the sea before them and mountains around them. A pillar of fire came between the two groups, blocking the valley so the Egyptians could not reach Israel. It gave the Israelites light all night as they crossed the sea on dry ground, while the Egyptian side remained dark.

Pharaoh's army watched the fire hold them back through the night. When the fire was gone and the Israelites had crossed, Pharaoh still sent his chariots into the sea. He had seen God's protection for hours and drove into the place God had opened for Israel. A hardened heart had taken away his ability to reason from what he had witnessed.

What did Jesus ask the disciples to remember?

In Mark 8, Jesus asked His disciples whether their hearts were still hardened. They had seen Him feed two crowds with a small amount of food, yet they misunderstood His warning about the leaven of the Pharisees. They thought He was talking about bread because they had brought none.

Jesus asked whether they remembered the baskets left over after each meal. Their difficulty was not a lack of evidence. They had taken part in the miracles. Remembering what Jesus had done could have helped them understand what He meant and trust Him in the moment.

Jesus asked them about the baskets because they had seen what He could do with a little bread.

This post draws from Hardness of Heart, Episode 3 by Andrew Wommack. Watch the full teaching on YouTube.