Jesus
asked, "Will
you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?" -- John 4:
48 (NLT)
I was witness to a modern day miracle yesterday in the life
of a friend of mine. No one walked on water. There weren't thousands of people
fed with a few loaves and fish. Nobody walked out from a graveyard after being
entombed four days. Yet it was a miracle nonetheless. It was a miracle because
if anyone had asked a few short months ago whether we would be where we were
yesterday, no one would have predicted. No one would have foreseen. But these
are the modern day miracles we see every day if we would just open our eyes.
More to the point -- if we would just close our natural eyes and see with our
faith the mighty move of God in our lives and ascribe to Him the glory He is
due for the miracles our lives become once we put our faith in Jesus Christ.
I think we can get spoiled when we read the Gospel accounts
of the marvelous miracles Jesus performed while He walked amongst us in bodily
form. We see the calming of the storm in the natural with only a word and we
think why can't we see that today? Yet how many of us have experienced violent
storms in our lives calmed with just a Word from the Master spoken into our
lives during prayer or while reading the Bible? Just like on the
Think about Lazarus raised from the dead after being in the
tomb for four days. The miraculous raising of the dead; made manifest for the
glory of God. Yet how many of us were entombed by this world's systems? How many
of us were entombed with drug addiction, abused lives, and broken empty
promises only to have Jesus Christ say to us -- "Come forth!" Come forth from
the lies this world has sold you! Come forth from the pain and guilt of your
past! Come forth from your life of hopelessness! Oh beloved, do not tell me
that miracles do not happen anymore!
Think about the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding
of the four thousand. The miraculous provision made manifest for the glory of
God. Yet how many times have we ourselves wondered where today's provision was
to come from only to see it occur right before our eyes! How many times has the
job come at just the right time? How often has the right word come to provide
peace and relief at just the right time? Oh, do not tell me that miracles do
not happen anymore!
Think about Peter walking on water towards Jesus. The
supernatural miracle made manifest for the glory of God. How often today do we
dismiss the supernatural within the confines of our limited thinking? Our finite
system of beliefs based upon a disbelieving world? How many times have we seen
the deliverance from demons only to watch as others demand Jesus leave. How
many times have we seen the miracle only to dismiss it away with worldly
excuses and logic? I once witnessed a miraculous healing. We had prayed
together the night before and in the morning the hospital staff were shocked
and bewildered at the changed report. They had no real answer. Yet my friend
started to try and find rational worldly reasons for the healing. I just leaned
in and said, "Is it just possible that God answered your prayers!" Like the
early believers praying for Peter's release from prison and then refusing to
believe when he was at the door! Oh, do not tell me that miracles and the
supernatural do not happen anymore!
They do happen -- every single day. They happen for those who
have the faith to believe that they can happen. Every time Jesus healed someone
He said it was done according to their faith. Does that mean God will only heal
if you have faith? I prefer to think that people without faith will simply not
ascribe the glory due to God for their miracle. If you try hard enough the
world will give you rational and logical reasons why it couldn't be God. We
should know better as believers in Jesus Christ. Miracles happen for those who are
looking for them to happen. Too often we dismiss God out of hand in our
difficult situations. We dismiss the possible deliverance. We dismiss the
possible healing. We dismiss the possibility of being provided for or for God
to make the dry bones of our existence come alive again.
I saw a modern day miracle take place in my friend's life yesterday. She stood on faith and believed that it could happen. She allowed Jesus to lead her to it and accepted it when it happened. While I stood there in amazement, elated for her in the temporal, I stared to think on the eternal level and realized that this was simply a case of God being God. This was simply a case of what is available to us as believers if we allow God to be God in our lives and if we truly expect the miraculous. It happens every day -- we just have to see it for what it is and give all the glory due to His mighty name. Do not tell me the miracles do not happen anymore!
Rev. Anthony
