If only we could muster a more confident perspective. Then we could rest assured that during any season of life, God is indeed the God of Miracles. But how do we prove this to ourselves right now?
The One who made the blind to see
Is moving here in front of me, moving here in front of me
The One who made the deaf to hear
Is silencing my every fear, silencing my every fear
These lyrics from the hit song “Miracles” by Jesus Culture, featuring Chris Quilala, are words that we hear and immediately believe. If asked, we would likely be able to recall specific instances in the Bible where God performed miracles. God helped Moses part the Red Sea, He blessed and restored Job after a long season of suffering, and then there was the immaculate, Holy Spirit-conceived birth of Jesus Christ.
After Jesus was born, the miracles kept coming. Once He began His ministry, Jesus healed the blind, the lame, the sick. Thinking of God as a God of miracles is something we agree with and comprehend. However, when we think of Him as the God of Miracles in our own lives, our faith doesn’t always shine as brightly. Especially not in the midst of suffering.
But if He is the God of Miracles, isn’t He always, or just sometimes?
If only we could muster a more confident perspective. Then we could rest assured that during any season of life, God is indeed the God of Miracles. But how do we prove this to ourselves right now?
Before we can convince ourselves of the miracles in our own lives, we have to remember which ones happened in Scripture.
Biblical Examples of the God of Miracles
In total, one church estimates 83 recorded miracles in the Old Testament and 80 in the New Testament. Also important to note, these are the recorded miracles. This means some divine acts did not appear in the final versions of Scripture. If we’re impressed with what God has done, we would be left more awe-struck by all the events we don’t read about.
With all this discussion about miracles, we should also ask an important question: What defines a miracle?
One way to interpret a miracle is an extraordinary event that defies human comprehension. Another way to understand the word is a sign, power, or wonder demonstrated through God.
Therefore, any instance of divinity that goes unexplained by human understanding, both in the past and present, we can interpret as a miracle.
Examples of biblical miracles include the Creation Story, the creation of the Ten Commandments, Isralieties overcoming various armies, or even Daniel surviving the lion’s den. Miracles fulfilled by God can involve many people or just one. However, what they all feature is God.
As a society, we often attach a positive connotation to the word "miracle". If something good occurs that is also supernatural, we call that happening a miracle. An example would be an unexpected and speedy recovery from what was ostensibly a terminal illness. We don’t often associate the Flood or the Plagues in Egypt as being miracles, but they were acts of God and thus qualify.
Another unique characteristic of miracles is that they are sometimes foretold. The coming of Christ was predicted, as was His resurrection. Other miracles happen in the moment, like Jesus walking on water or breaking five loaves of bread and feeding thousands of people.
Miracles in Your Own Life
“‘Because of your little faith,’ he told them. ‘For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'” (Matthew 17:20)
Some of the miracles that occurred in Scripture occurred with people who believed in God, while some happened for those lacking in faith. The same can be said about us today. Some people find a new or reinvigorated faith in God after a miracle happens. Maybe a woman finds herself in a car accident and suddenly realizes she needs to get right with God. Or a man survives a shooting and decides that after coming so close to death, he now wants to believe.
For those of us who already believe, maybe the miracle comes through in the form of making ends meet when ostensibly all seemed lost. We feared homelessness, but the fear was put to shame. Maybe our miracle is having a baby when previous experience and multiple doctors said having a baby was impossible.
Miracles come in many shapes and sizes, but what they all have in common is God. Our faith determines whether or not we witness the event as a miracle, some supernatural happening, or just an event. For example, some people try to explain the existence of life as random, a chance encounter produced by evolution when a universe made of nothing suddenly produced something. Christians recognize life as a miracle, explained in part through the Creation Story.
Admittedly, sometimes science has not progressed enough to offer quality explanations. However, there are things in life science humans will never explain, but because science is a study of the natural world. God is supernatural.
Thus, when we want to understand miracles, we don’t always turn to science. Instead, we can use the miracles set forth in the Bible, along with all its other wisdom, to understand miracles in our lives today. God is the God of miracles whether we have the faith to believe in that title or not.
The One who made the blind to see
Is moving here in front of me, moving here in front of me
The One who made the deaf to hear
Is silencing my every fear, silencing my every fear
If you could rewrite the lyrics of this song to reflect your own life, what would you say? How has God healed, protected, or provided for you? What was your miracle? What miracles did you see Him performing in the lives of others around you?
However you answer today, that’s different from what you would have said as a child, different from what you will say next year. Our ability to praise God grows along with our faith. We see Him differently in different seasons of life. No matter where we start in our faith or when, we want to end up in the same place, acknowledging His many great works.
Recognizing what God has done in our lives requires us to be both intentional and grateful. We have to be intentional about recognizing God’s work, rather than dismissing good occurrences as chance or luck. Likewise, when we see His goodness, we ought to give Him praise (1 Thessalonians 5:18). There are so many ways to thank Him, from having a relationship with Him, to having loved ones, to having functioning bodies. The reasons for gratitude are endless. And though there’s no way we could ever thank Him enough, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t thank Him at all.
Discussing and recognizing the miracles mentioned in the Bible can be both comfortable and easy. Taking the same approach to our modern-day lives is a different feat and more difficult. Still, does God produce miracles today? Isn’t He still the God of Miracles?
Recognizing God as the God of Miracles affects our relationship with Him. With the right perspective, we give Him the due reverence He deserves and better live lives reflective of His presence.
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Get in touch with him at aarondanthony.com and check out his debut short story anthology Honey Dreams on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
