A Life Full of Miracles

80% of us believe in miracles – supernatural interventions that cause amazing, improbable things to happen¹. There are all kinds of examples.

Stories abound of cancer victims cured instantly, people surviving falls from dizzying heights, and dead hearts that begin to beat again. Most people also believe that God is responsible for these miracles.

People love to tell stories of the awesome power of miracles. Everyone has an example of something amazing. It’s like they are saying “That’s my God, all right. He is strong enough to do anything.”

These mega-miracles are comforting because they reinforce God’s role as your protector. They are huge, indisputable signs of his presence. They give hope that in your own days of despair, he will come to your rescue, too.

There is another kind of miracle. I searched online, but can’t find any research studies measuring how many of us believe in them. I call them mini-miracles, and they require a different level of faith.

Mini-miracles are small influences made by God in our own lives. They are still supernatural and improbable. They may be smaller in size, but they aren’t smaller in impact. Here is an example of a recent mini-miracle in my life.

I’ve been sick for the past few weeks. I’ve been super-fatigued and can barely get through a slow day. Doctors haven’t been much help yet figuring out why. On a recent Saturday, my friends were getting together to do yard work for a friend who really needed help. I desperately wanted to go but knew I’d never survive the strenuous activity on a day forecasted to be over 90 degrees.

The morning of the event I felt terrible. I asked God to give me the strength to serve him that day. Against Kim’s better judgment, I loaded up and drove over, then felt the best I had in weeks. For the next eight hours, I had more energy than I’d had in a long time. It was an awesome day. However, I woke up the next day exhausted again.

It wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was supernatural. It wasn’t impossible, but it was improbable. Most importantly, it was personal. I loved it.

Recognizing mini-miracles requires an admission that God is moving in your life all the time. It acknowledges that he cares about you personally and spends time with you throughout each day. Mini-miracles happen because God is always present in your life.

Sometimes when life is hard, we feel alone. The pain that overwhelms us doesn’t go away when we pray for it. Voices whisper in your ear, saying that God could help but isn’t really worried about you right now, he has other things to do. Feeling abandoned, we don’t even expect help.

The beauty of mini-miracles isn’t the change they make in your life. The beauty of a mini-miracle is the simple reminder that God is there.

In the ministry part of my life, it has been easy to expect mini-miracles. In his name, I step into situations where I lack the ability and resources to make a difference. God has intervened so many times that I have learned to depend on his help as much as I can depend on a hammer to drive a nail.

I want to live that way all the time. Unfortunately, too often I fall short of passionate pursuit and settle for obligatory obedience.

Obedience is doing what God says, but it isn’t the same thing as passionately pursuing him. For example, when I talk about the ministry part of my life, that is just another way of saying the parts of my life that I live in a passionate pursuit of God. That distinguishes them from other parts of my life where I am merely obedient.

How much different would my marriage be if I surrendered it totally to him? What if I expected that every time Kim and I came together that we would be releasing his love into the world? Miracles would occur if I wasn’t guarded and defensive but instead expected to see the handiwork of God explode into the city just because we were together. My marriage would be so much stronger.

What if I entered each meeting at work expecting God to move instead of worrying about being right or wrong, being perceived correctly or not? What would happen if I reached out in faith, relying on God for success? Work would need a new name.

Maybe you have an area of your life where you need a miracle. Maybe you need a mega-miracle or maybe only a mini-miracle. Either way, God is on the move, just trust him. Maybe it’s not in the direction you hope for. Let go and let him take over. Then get ready for something amazing.

God loves us desperately. In each area of our life that we turn over to him, miracles will become common.

Where do you want a miracle?

Source:
¹Pew Research Center – Research Among the Millenials
https://www.pewforum.org/2010/02/17/religion-among-the-millennials/