| "Sometimes, the MIRACLE He offers does not change our circumstances or bring us the answers we desperately want, but He promises to remain near to us and continue working in us. And that is a divine MIRACLE I'm so very thankful..." |
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Have you ever noticed or experienced that God allows you at times a personal way of driving home a point, either from what you're reading in His Word or perhaps through a devotional? I just knew that God wanted me to share about "Miracles" in my own life. Not that I have had a grandiose miracle of something spectacular in my own life, but it doesn't have to be grand to be a miracle. I believe that Jesus works in miraculous ways now as much as He did in the New Testament stories and nothing is too big or too small for us to bring it to Him with expectancy of the possibility that this might just be a miracle in the making.
I believe in Jesus, as the Miracle Worker! I did not happen to just chance upon this belief through reading this devotional yet it somehow magnified and is being confirmed in a recent personal happening in my own life. God allowed me (and allows us) to actually see how He is our Miracle Worker. How often to we cry out to God & let Him know, we need a Miracle!
In my story, at this time, I was not crying out for a personal example of miracle of JESUS, however, without a doubt, I do believe that He is providing one. I have cried out to God for miracles but this was/is not one of those times. I daily come to Him however asking for His Healing.
My first most profound miracle in my life (and in the lives of most believers) is when we come into having a personal relationship with God, because of JESUS Christ. It is about being chosen and accepting the gift of salvation from Jesus! Jesus becomes our friend, advocate, defender, as our Messiah, Savior, King & Lord. Jesus lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit! I consider this a grand miracle! Jesus is everything! So everything in us belongs to Him.
Here is a definition and explanation I read of a miracle that I've held on to while reading this:
| "A miracle is a divine act by which God reveals Himself to people. I would love for you to have a big definition of miracles. We don’t want to be people who doubt or question whether something was “big enough” to name it a miracle. An answered prayer, by this definition, is a miracle. It is a divine act by which God reveals Himself. We want to be people who have such faith that we know answered prayers are miracles. We want to be amazed and know that God shows up whenever we see Him move in our lives and in the lives of others." |
The winter has begun to slowly edge away & snow has been melting yet remnants of snow piled high and ice remain but now in addition to that mud has replaced much of the area out in front of our country home. This makes it quite difficult to drive up and escape mud and ice on our driveway and entrance area. So I decided to move my vehicle, since the other one was being used to go to town; and clear the area in front so his guest could get out of her vehicle more easily on our sidewalk and the paved area to walk directly into our house without encountering any mud or ice or snow. I drove my car closer to the other end of our house near the deck, ramp & stairs, where our dog Bella was waiting for me. Then I opened my door & stepped out of my vehicle to where my disaster happens. I lost my footing and slid flat out in to the mud and under a portion of my car. Soaking in mud, hurting so much everywhere, I was unable to decide how I could even get up and I was calling out to my spouse to help me, but most certainly could not even hear me (very hard of hearing) or see me (lying in the mud on the opposite side of the house where he was waiting). In between my groans, I began calling on Jesus, "Jesus, help me". And He did! (but that isn't the miracle, just the beginning) ... I was able to get up, dripping with mud and make my way "ouching" to our dog on our deck & opened the sliding door, grabbing a walker on wheels thankfully right there, and scooting myself to the bathroom to wash off the mud all over me. But had to immediately grab 2 Tylenol for the pain, without even knowing what part of me was aching the most.
JESUS helped me get out of the mud to a place where I might be able to wash off & rid myself of mud soaked clothes and shoes in between excruciating pain and the inability to put weight on one side. I was unable, but JESUS is able! I'll spare you all the rest of the details from the Urgent Care to ER to the beginning of the making of a miracle slowly taking place for me. A break - actually a fracture ... a sprain & swollen, bruised ankle, foot & leg ... aches all the way up - a chance for JESUS to show up, restore and bring healing day by day. Orthopedist & Physical therapy (starts today) but no need for surgery. Praise God! Just His healing.
Hopefully, you can understand the similarities from this 'mud episode' and when we come to Jesus. You see, when we first understand how God sees us with so much love, yet covered with the filth of sin, separating us from Him, He chose to look further for a solution. The mud covers us from head to toe, so much that we are unrecognizable as His children, His image. He desires to remove the mud, the shame, the sheer humility from our falling in the 'mud' in the first place. He had warned us. We were aware of the dangers because we ourselves were trying to keep another from falling. Yet we slid. We fell. We were unable to get up alone. But it doesn't end there. Oh no, not after a glorious Resurrection SONday! Because God sent JESUS to earth to save us, wash us off and cleanse us by His very own blood, to pay the price that we could never pay, for what divided us from God, the Father. Jesus willingly stepped into the muck (that mud & filth of our sin) and grime of history to die so we could live. Jesus was our sacrificial Lamb, that died a horrendous death on Good Friday, was laid in the tomb, descended to the pit of hell, and rose again victoriously on Resurrection SONday! But this is still just the beginning yet oddly also the ending.
JESUS has been with me every. single. moment of every. single. day & night through every. single. pain and every single phase of my healing and learning to walk in a walking boot for at least the next six weeks according to the orthopedist but JESUS is teaching me many lessons along this healing journey of how to walk again with Him, relying on Him. I've seen the bruising slowly get worse as it gets better. I get a close-up encounter with JESUS daily as He tends to me and my healing (and not just the physical ones from the mud fall) but allowing me to heal in other ways to strengthen my faith & belief in miracles & the Miracle Worker, our Great Physician, Jehovah Rapha! Oh, how He has revealed so much more of Himself to me & lessons I still need to learn. When I sat down to begin sharing my Miracle Worker, I had so many ideas from this muddy fall swirling around in my head and spiritual analogies of this healing process, that I was not sure which direction, or which ones I should choose to use.
BUT I am so thankful for JESUS, my Healer and Miracle Worker, as I watch intimately how each step along this new journey, He brings healing and revelation of something new to me. I've had to learn how to rely on JESUS even more: to change from stepping out on my right as I am accustomed to doing to my left which use to just follow my right step; and also learning to put less weight on my right. There are so many daily motions and abilities that we take for granted without thinking how important they are to the whole functioning well. Sleeping with my foot elevated & iced has made my sleepless nights even more restless. Yet I'm so grateful that I can rest as JESUS soothes every. single. ache & pain and gave me adequate posturing to sleep comfortably trusting Him.
JESUS does miracles (big & seemingly small, like mine) to move our hearts to believe in Him & give Him all the glory! We don't just need a miracle when we're desperate, we need miracles every. single. moment. We need to believe in the Miracle Worker and the power in the Name of Jesus! We need to keep on believing so when a desperate situation arises, we know that JESUS has the ultimate power over everything - anything. Miracles require us to trust God - release and relinquish, then receive! Seek God first, believe and see your miracle in the making! I was going to write the following in my own words to praise JESUS & give Him all the glory as my Ultimate Miracle Worker but felt it was best expressed by the author.
| "The ultimate miracle is not the healing of the body but the healing of the soul." "Jesus Christ brings healing. He can heal you emotionally, relationally, spiritually, and physically. If you believe in Him, He will give you life in His name. Through Jesus Christ, we connect with God and are able to place our trust in Him. The ultimate goal of miracles is to believe in Jesus; it is not enough to believe the miracle. The miracle is an on-ramp to get you to believe in Jesus. You do not get saved, have a relationship with God, and go to heaven because you believe in a miracle. You use the miracle to believe in a higher Power—and that is Jesus Christ."~Greg Matte |
