It seems like God has been trying to get our attention forever…from the Old Testament days of Genesis  when He saved Noah and his family on the ark and sent a rainbow and of Exodus when He parted the Red Sea and sent manna raining down from heaven, to His works through Jesus in the Gospels – sending His Son to be born of a virgin, turning water into wine, healing the blind man, the lepers, and so many, many more, converting tax collectors and murderers into disciples and saints,  and even raising Lazarus from the dead! And yet, despite so many miracles recorded in the Bible, there are so many stories of people who actually witnessed these miracles and still did not believe. So what about us today, two thousand and seventeen years later? What signs from God are we getting and perhaps ignoring? What do we have to go on to keep believing?
At first, when I asked myself this, I felt a bit uneasy. I actually found myself wondering why God is taking so long to come back to us, for Jesus to appear and do some more “magic” acts, healing acts, miracles. Of course, as soon as that thought crept in I felt guilty. How dare I question God’s ways? And where is my faith? And more importantly, do I forget so quickly what it says in the Bible…that not only is He coming again physically: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (a promise at the very end of the Bible in Revelation, 22:20-21) but He is present among us – within us – right here right now spiritually, and that we are and need to be God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for each other here on earth – that WE are and need to do and be the miracles for each other. (“And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers…to build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.” Eph. 4:11-13)
If I stop long enough to reflect on all of this, I realize I have seen many miracles in my life…the birth and growth of my own children, Â the continued sobriety and spiritual awakening in the rooms of recovery both of my own self and of others, finding true love with someone who helps me to be a better person, the start of healing in my father who has cancer, the changes in others’ lives I’ve made through my Bible-based novels (the idea to write them was a God-given miracle in the first place), and so much more.
Lord, let me not grow weary in my faithfulness, and remember that if and when I doubt, I can turn to Your Word for the proof I seek.
