Have You Experienced A Miracle Lately?

Before we get to today’s article, I just want to mention that am writing from the perspective of a man that has experienced many of the challenges of which I write…. and those spiritual battles continue daily. The articles are implications of what it means to obey the commandment to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. They require some reflection and are particularly for Christians who, as Peter would say, are diligently seeking to confirm their calling and are making every effort to supplement their faith. Said more succinctly, serious Christians. If you know other believers who desire to walk more faithfully with the Lord, please forward an article to them and tell them to sign up for future articles. Thanks so much!

Have You Experienced A Miracle Lately?

During the last five weeks, I have witnessed God doing extraordinary things in the life of my brother who suffered a massive heart attack and eventually was blessed with a heart transplant. I have seen the amazing use of life support technology, the tender and loving care from his caregivers, the brilliance of the surgeons, two code blues and successful resuscitation, and much more. By the way, did you know that a heart harvested from a person who has passed, continues to beat in a certain oxygenated environment? As many others and I walked through these last five weeks, it became quite common to hear the descriptor of events as miraculous. But I thought, were we actually experiencing miracles?

Here is how the trusted Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word miracle: “An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs, such as the healing miracles in the gospels.”

If I take that definition as my guide, I will argue that we did not experience the miracles of God. What we did experience were things that God does through His providential governing of the world, and He does those things to show His goodness to both the Christian and non-Christian. In other words, it was not unusual that my brother received a new heart at Piedmont Hospital. In fact, hundreds of people go through the transplant process and receive a new heart each year.

In addition to Webster’s definition of a miracle, I spent some time looking up what other sources say about miracles, and I must say that there are quite a few opinions about miracles. Some denied the existence of miracles, some had many categories and ideas about miracles, and one even believed that you could tell God to give you a miracle. However, much of orthodox Christianity believes that the healing and other miracles were used by God in the early church and are no longer active today. God had a specific purpose for them at that time such as validating the preaching and teaching of God’s word, but today’s guiding light and source of truth is the precious word of God that we call the Bible.

For me, I need to break down things into fairly simple categories in order to find application in my life. So, I came up with two categories of miracles.

That first category I would call, “one-time extraordinary miracles of God.” These are the recorded events that dramatically illustrate the power and sovereignty of God over all things and how he uses them for his purposes. These miracles illustrate God’s ability to intervene in what we may call the normal behavior of nature, or the things that we see very day. He is able to do these things because He is not only the God who created the universe, but He is the God who established and governs the rules of nature, and He holds it all together. Examples of, “one-time extraordinary miracles of God” are the flood (Gen. 7-8), the 10 plagues (Ex. 7-12), parting the sea (Ex. 14), water from a rock (Ex. 17), and manna from heaven (Ex. 16). Much of the Bible (especially the Old Testament) gives praise to God for these one-time extraordinary miracles in the Psalms and songs of God’s men. And of course, there are the mighty acts of the Lord Jesus in Mark 2:1-11, Mark 7:34, John 2:11, 6:1-14, 6:19, 9:1-7, and many, many others.

With this category of miracles in mind, I will say that we did not experience any miracles at the hospital.

But then, there is category 2, which I am calling, “The daily miracles of the Lord.” These are the things that we live in every day and are no less extraordinary acts of God than the one time miracles. Some examples:

• The expectation that the stars and the galaxies will all be held in such a way that the earth is never too far or too close to the sun, thereby giving us the only planet in the universe suitable for life.
• The daily provision of water, plant life and other sources of food.
• The ability of man to continue to grow in knowledge, thereby using all sorts of resources in the earth to create machines and technology that blesses our lives- like the life support machinery my brother was dependent on for many days to stay alive.
• The unfolding revelation of the greatness of God from scientific exploration of universe at the micro level (think molecular and DNA) to the macro (think of the growing number of galaxies that have been discovered through advanced telescopes)- think of the DNA in the heart from the donor that continued to beat as it waits for a new home.
• The creation of new humans through birth.

These were the kinds of miracles that we experienced at the hospital and compelled us to worship God! But then I thought- why are we worshipping Him for these things at this time and not in this way every day? And I think the answer is that we were forced to see it. Yes, we were all stripped of our concerns for other things in life and desperately looking for the Lord to deliver my brother from death. And realizing how weak my praise and thanksgiving is daily apart from my experience at the hospital, I was ashamed.

Have we become people that are numb to the glory of God in His daily miraculous work? Do we enjoy the gifts that He has given us but forget to give thanks to the Giver? Romans 1 has a great warning for us. It describes the non-believer as one who knows God but does not (v. 21, 28) give thanks to Him and in refusing to do so, hardens their hearts (Romans 2:4). Can we allow ourselves to think, even for a moment, like a non-believer?

Of course, the greatest miracle of all time is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That extraordinary miracle of God is both a category 1 (one time) and category 2 (daily) because His one-time dying for all has provided everything we need for our daily and forever miraculous salvation. His finished work 2,000 years ago provides the basis not only for eternal salvation, but for our daily walk and worship as the Father makes us more like His Son (also miraculous deed). Not only does the Lord Jesus live, His Spirit is living and working in us for our good each day.

I’m proposing to myself and then to you, that we need to regularly ask God to give us the grace to see His daily miracles with eyes of worship. And we need to apply this to our children as well. Let’s not let them grow up not acknowledging what God is doing every day. Going back to God’s instructions to parents in Deuteronomy 11:1-8, we may not be able to tell our kids of the great miracles that the Israelites experienced personally in the Old Testament, but we can point them to the everyday extraordinary acts of the Lord. He is worthy!

Speaking of worthy to worship, have you considered family worship? You may be blessed by the short booklet, “Rediscovering The Lost Treasure Of Family Worship.” You can listen to it on YouTube or Apple Podcast using the links below!

Title: Rediscovering The Lost Treasure Of Family Worship. Written By Jerry Marcellino And Read By Michael Lee

Description: Family Worship was once the normal practice that most Christian parents led in their homes. Led by either parent, the children would be taught daily from the word of God, pray and sing songs. It was considered to be a vital part of the Christian life.

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherish-ephesians-6-4-presents-rediscovering-the-lost/id1692401602

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAh2MVKU1VQgNq7asslVBsKyq0FC3arMs

A Call To Prayer By J. C. Ryle.  Although these words were penned more than 100 years ago, the need and application for today’s Christian is greater than ever.

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherish-ephesians-6-4-presents-a-call-to-prayer-by/id1672880807

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAh2MVKU1VQjaXXgO8P1U-bBFkEMCwdYR

Thanks for checking in. See you next time.

Title: All Things For Good Written By Thomas Watson And Read By Michael Lee

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Last modified: November 16, 2023