God allowed me to perform my first visible miracle yesterday.
For basically the past eight months (if not longer), I’ve been a little frustrated with God. He says the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, the dead will be raised, demons will be cast out, and people will be healed in His name. He said I, His follower, would do greater miracles than He did, and I can move a freaking mountain if I have the faith of a mustard seed.
So I’ve been waiting, and wishing, and hoping and praying to see the Holy Spirit do His thing, which I have full faith that He can do. I’ve prayed for countless people with diseases, people who can’t hear, people who can’t see, people who can’t walk, and people who can’t speak on the World Race. And I have not lost faith. I’ve just been confused as to why He hasn’t used me for the miraculous up until this point. He’s used my team mates. I’ve heard countless stories from squad mates. But up until now He hadn’t used me…
Honestly, I still don’t have an answer as to why that is. I know I don’t want to see miracles for my own glory. I want to see them for His glory, so that people may come to know Him.
But for whatever reason, He finally let me see his miraculous hand yesterday when I prayed over an 11-year-old girl who is part of the English class me and my team mates have been helping with at our ministry site in Ukraine. She walked into the dining room yesterday limping. Immediately I noticed that something was wrong, and asked to pray for her. She was hesitant, but I prayed anyways, basically pretending the language barrier had caused me to not understand that she didn’t want me to pray. I crouched down, put my hand on her leg, and prayed similarly to how I had every other time. When I finished praying, I just smiled at her and motioned for her to walk with me to the kitchen. She took a few steps and started freaking out and squealing with glee. There was no more pain – at all. She was healed and walking perfectly like she had the day before. I just pointed up, and said “Jesus.” And that was that.
It was really cool to finally have God use me in that way, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time.
But this morning, the God who said the last will be first and the first will be last and that the one who is greatest will be a servant, told me that He’s been doing miracles though me every day – the miracles of the mundane.
If I’ve prayed for a lot of miracles on the Race, I’ve cleaned even more kitchens and bedrooms. I’ve washed more dishes. I’ve swept and mopped more than ever in my life. I’ve done loads of other people’s laundry. I’ve taken out trash bag after trash bag. I've grocery shopped and cooked meals. I’ve cleaned toilets filled with other people’s crap and cleaned other people’s hair out of the shower drains.
These mundane tasks have comprised the majority of my ministry, especially my past two months in Europe.
But the miracle I realize now is that these seemingly every day, menial tasks have made me more like Jesus and refined more of His character in me than any supernatural healing through my hands could have ever done.
I’m realizing more and more that the Holy Spirit is working miracles in and out of me any time I do anything in the name of Jesus Christ, and for His glory. The ability to serve and do it cheerfully (most of the time) because I’m doing it unto the Lord is, my friends, a miracle in itself.
***Full recaps on India, Romania and Ukraine are coming at the end of this month. I promise.***
