Seeing Miracles Through Faith

“And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”

The God we worship is the great I Am. He is the one who created all things – the universe, our solar system, the sun, the moon, our planet, the plants and animals, the oceans. All things. Everything that was and is created moves the way he created it to, resonates at the frequency that he set, interrelates with every other created thing exactly as he has ordained. There is nothing that happens that he does not allow and he uses all things that happen for his purpose. How all-encompassing. How all-knowing. How all-powerful. No wonder the writers of the psalms wrote such beautiful and eloquent songs in worship to God. “How majestic is your name.” “You are my refuge.”

What God does is simply miraculous, meaning hard to believe or beyond the scope of our abilities or understanding. The act of creation. Setting sub-atomic particles to oscillate at specific frequencies, forever. The design and creation of a butterfly.

And yet, we doubt.

Even some among the disciples doubted. When they were called to meet the resurrected Jesus at the mountain the tax collector Matthew recorded the scene in verse 17 of chapter 28 of his account of the Gospel, “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” We don’t know who exactly was counted among the doubters but we can imagine that Thomas the fisherman was among them. Thomas became known through the ages as the doubter because he had to see physical proof that Jesus was alive after death. Once he touched the wounds on Jesus he proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”

This was the Son of God, who had raised the dead, healed the sick, done all manner of acts that could only be called miracles. He was an unbelievable scholar, a rabbi of immense wisdom, a teacher who drew thousands to listen to him and when they had gathered he fed 5,000 from a little boy’s few fishes and loaves.

But some doubted.

Everyday, in our doubt that something as incredulous, as wonderful, as breathtaking as a Savior who paid the price for our eternal life with God, as the love of the God of the universe, in our doubt that such wonder exists, we don’t see the miracles. Oh, it’s not that the miracles aren’t happening. The sun is a miracle that is visible every day. The rain. The moon. The wind. Plants and trees. Animals. They’re all miracles. No person could create any of them. Yet they exist and we see them.
As we go through our day, we have many things happening around us. People do things to us, for us or with us. Miracles. Birds sing songs of morning cheer. Miracles. Something great happens for us. Or, we have a near miss, a near accident, we’re spared from something. Miracles.

It isn’t that God isn’t doing miracles or that God isn’t willing to do miracles. It’s simply that in our doubt we do not see them.

Matthew says that Jesus didn’t do many miracles in his hometown because the people lacked faith. He didn’t say that Jesus didn’t do any. In truth, the existence of the God man Jesus, was a miracle that still puzzles scholars and scientists today. But we can imagine that whatever miracles that Jesus did while he was there were probably missed by those who were around him. They simply could not see because they could not believe what they saw.

There is nothing that happens that God does not allow. When you need a message from God that he loves you, he sends a bird, the sunshine, someone who smiles or greets you pleasantly or does something kind for you. That’s a miracle. Look for it. Expect it. Then recognize it for what it is.