I’m not sure when it first happened, but the word “love” has been diluted. We “love” our favorite food, our favorite song, and even our favorite pair of shoes. We often use the word carelessly, so much so that expressing genuine love for God or another seems watered-down. It doesn’t always convey the heartfelt depth of our emotions. It takes deliberate action to express our deepest love adequately. As with faith, love without action is no love at all.
So, why would we doubt the actions of Love Himself?
Unfortunately, like “love,” the word “miracle” gets batted around flippantly. We find an empty parking space and declare it a miracle. We receive a visit from a friend at just the right time, so we smile and announce, “It’s a miracle!” Even as the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team scored a winning goal in the final seconds, the excited announcer screamed, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!”
Many Christians believe miracles no longer exist and offer several verses as evidence. Other Christians offer similar evidence for believing God is still in the miracle-working business. That debate will last until we meet Jesus face-to-face with all our questions. I have no desire to enter that debate. I merely want to tell you a story (I’ve been given permission) and let you decide what you believe.
On the morning of January 20th, Ron’s sister Debbie suffered a massive stroke. Had it not been for a phone call from her daughter-in-law, Debbie’s husband Stan might not have realized what was happening. He immediately recognized her slurred speech and crooked smile and called 911. It just so happened that the ambulance, usually several miles away, was on our mountain. They responded to the call within five minutes. The roads to Huntsville, which had been closed because of ice, had just reopened. Debbie was rushed to the ER, where our family was told that another 30 minutes would have been too late. Yet, her prognosis was still bleak.
Today, doctors and nurses call Debbie the “poster child for a miracle.” She wasn’t supposed to be able to move her arms and legs, but she is. Everyone feared she wouldn’t be able to speak, but she can. Did God miraculously intervene? Who reopened arteries and knitted together what had been injured? Who placed the fight of a champion inside her?
The New Testament uses the word ” miracle ” in four forms: signs, works, wonders, and power. Signs often predicted future events so that their occurrence inspired belief. Works provided proof that Jesus was who He said He was. Wonders filled onlookers with awe, compelling them to believe. The Greek word for “power” is dunamis, from which we get our word “dynamite.” It is my favorite form of the word because it proclaims God’s powerful supernatural intervention.
God’s active love remains the same today as yesterday. To dismiss His intervention is to discount His love.
He’s given us His Word as a SIGN, pointing us to His master plan for all creation. As we witness its predictions unfolding, our belief deepens.
God’s loving hand still WORKS to prove that He lives within believers and continues to do all He says He can do. He arranges divine appointments with precise and perfect timing. I am convinced of that.
All of creation wears out with age because we live in a fallen world. However, from a scraped knee to a heart transplant, God has infused our bodies with the WONDER of healing itself.
We can read of God’s POWER displayed through Jesus and the apostles, yet nothing may compel us to believe quite like the miracle of our own salvation, redemption, and transformation.
I can’t help but remember the quote from Oswald Chambers I used last week when writing about Job’s suffering. “It was grief that brought Job to this place (looking outside himself for answers), and grief is the only thing that will; joy does not, neither does prosperity, but grief does.”
Debbie still has a long road of recovery ahead of her. Satan will undoubtedly sharpen his flaming arrows, yet she is eager to proclaim God’s love and miracle-working power. I have no reason to doubt that her transformation will soar on wings like eagles!
While we know the ending of The Greatest Story Ever Told, it’s humbling to realize that God continues to ink our individual stories with the blood of Jesus. His love is never diluted! I’m praying that Debbie will have visions of Jesus when she sleeps and that she will feel Him holding her close enough to hear Him whisper, “Everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33 TPT) She might even hear Him say, “You know I love you, right?”
So, the question still lingers, “Do YOU believe in miracles?” I do because I am one.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT, emphasis mine)
