Before we left for our 11 months of mission work, we had many people say
“I can’t wait to hear about all the miracles you will see happen!”
To be honest, we couldn’t wait to see them either! Mental pictures of the lame walking, the mute speaking, supernatural phenomenon, and unexplainable events filled our minds any time we thought of seeing a miracle happen. We started off the race excited to see God work, but we didn’t think we saw any miracles for the first few months. There were still many months ahead of us and it was easy to be patient, so we waited, and waited, and waited, and waaaaaaited. Around month 9, disappointment began to settle in. We felt we had not seen any big displays of wonder. We come from a church background in which miracles are not always talked about, and when they are, many times they are heard with an ear of disbelief. This was also a difficult month for our team and we had been praying that a miracle would happen with the church were were working alongside. The big miracle we were hoping for never happened while we were there. All of those mental pictures we had been hoping to see in real life never played out in front of our own eyes. Sure, some of our squad mates had seen healings and people miraculously saved from dangerous circumstances, but not us.
I was praying one day and told God that I had faith that the miracles that happened in the Bible could still happen today. I wanted, no needed, to see this part of my Christian faith play out in front of me so that I could go home and tell everyone what I had seen! So why hadn’t he revealed miracles to us?
During a quiet time one day, God gave me an obvious answer through 2 Kings chapter 5. Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was a well-established man who had leprosy. He hears of Elisha’s miracles and decides to go visit him so that Elisha could heal him. Naaman shows up outside of Elisha’s house boasting chariots and horses, ready for a grand display for him and his officers. Elisha realizes that Naaman is just there for the show, so he doesn’t even come out of his house, he just sends a messenger. Naaman is told “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” He lashes out in confusion and embarrassment in front of his officers, turns to leave and says, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” It’s obvious that Naaman was disappointed at the the lack of seeing a flashy miracle and the seeming normalcy of what Elisha told him to do. He is so angered that he leaves. But lucky for him, he had some very bold and faithful servants who say to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” Naaman decides to listen to them, goes to the river “and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
I was Naaman, full of faith that God could work a miracle, but so focused on my idea of seeing a flashy miracle that I had almost missed the miracles that God had done! There are many times that God works in our lives or calls us to do something that is miraculous and we almost miss the miracle!
I have learned that a miracle requires 3 things:
1) You have to ask for the Lord’s help.
2) Your heart has to be clean.
3) You have to do whatever the Lord tells you, even if you don’t understand.
As adults, we are so quick to explain things away. When we see magic tricks, we reason through them and aren’t impressed unless they are over the top and incredibly unbelievable. Children on the other hand are amazed by magic. Jesus encourages us to be more like them. The word “miracle” stems from the Latin word miraculum, meaning ‘object of wonder’. We can still wonder at all the good God has done, even if we think that we can understand his works.
Here are some of the objects of wonder that God has allowed us to be a part of over the last year:
– The Lord healing me from a kidney issues in Lesotho with no further problems throughout the last five months of the race.
– God giving me the ability to play piano when churches needed it. I played piano in high school and haven’t played since. I should not have been able to remember what I did after seven years of not playing, but my hands were prayed over, and God brought it all back miraculously!
– God constantly providing for us financially every time we have needed it.
– In Greece there were some very cold nights at the camp and there were always enough blankets for refugees, even giving out the last blanket to the last person on many occasions. Just the refugees reaching our camp was a miracle many times!
– In Serbia, we got to share the gospel with a cab driver after we saw the Lord change his mind in deciding to spend time with us.
– Spending hundreds of hours on all kinds of crazy transportation with interesting drivers and few traffic rules without ever getting in a wreck or getting lost.
– This past month in Vietnam was FULL of miracles! Being at the end of a full year with little rest, our team was exhausted and we told the Lord that we had very little left to give, but that we were willing to do whatever he called us to do. He worked through us as empty vessels and provided so many opportunities for us to share the gospel with complete strangers in ways that we can not explain except for his miraculous power!
I encourage you to look for the ways that God has provided for you in smaller, more every day events. I know that God will open your eyes as He did mine to see all the ways He miraculously provided!
