You are the Miracle!

Our minds have been predisposed to believe in the supernatural, the miracle performers, the charming and uplifting public speakers, our spiritual leaders, and many things beyond our control and view them as real miracles even when they are fake. And we forget that we are the miracles that shape and change the world around us. We have the inner power to bring our happiness and sorrows. We can either make our neighbors happy or send them straight to hell!

Some miracle stories

We are so excited to hear the miracle news. For example, a Dutch-Australian woman named Grada Robertson was hit by a truck and was grateful because she experienced a new worldview about life. Joel Osteen’s mother (Dodie Osteen) has been battling liver cancer since 1981. She is still a miraculous survivor. No matter how sensational the story is, we do not fight cancer. It is not a war or a battleground. It is just a process the body goes through, a disease that sooner or later claims our life. People with broken bones being able to walk again or a Michigan woman (Lila DeLine) who was internally decapitated in a car crash with a fractured, dislocated neck and brain bleed survived. Just after spending three months in a hospital, she is walking and cooking again!

DeLine’s car crash scene in August 2018.

We have also heard so many stories about near-death experiences (NDE). Some people report seeing the tunnel of light, being reunited with the loved ones, and life flashbacks, etc. One may wonder “is what they experience really in their subconscious mind or they just tell people what they need to hear? Well, this is not the time to engage in contrasting neuroscience with personal experiences. The authors Alex and Kevin Malarkey of the Boy who came back from heaven, a perfectly designed NDE fraud tells the whole story. Five years after its publication, the alleged boy (Alex) in the story shocked the public that he never died and never went to heaven. He admitted it was fictional. Such stories are so sensational that the books become New York bestsellers.

How about people who get healed of cancer (like Dodie Osteen) or get functionally cured of AIDS like Timothy R Brown? For Brown, is it really a miracle or just because the HIV viral load became untraceable? Probably both.

Believing in the Supernatural

Plainly stated, we tend to believe in the supernatural, the magic. The fear of the unknown is a great propaganda tool used in politics for selfish gains. And it works in both Western and the rest of the world. While the miraculous events I shared with you are so mind-blowing, how about the unexplainable incidents that happen in our everyday lives? We do not only have to associate miracles with the supernatural like Jesus walking on water after calming the turbulent storm and stopping the wind (Mark 6: 50-51, NIV). Yes, walking on water is a real miracle but how about the time you are about to fall off the balcony on the 8^th floor? What stopped you? Wasn’t that a miracle too?

We fail to appreciate the daily miracles we experience. I remember the time I was a distracted driver. Like many others, I was using my cellphone to search for places I was heading to. I lost control of the vehicle. There was a big truck in front of me. The accident would have been devastating. Inexplicably, when the collision was about to happen, my car changed the lane (I found myself in the middle yellow lane). I tried to ignore what happened because I was not injured. Later, I could not explain to myself how that was possible. My car sensing technology only allows it to abruptly stop to prevent a collision. I am still amazed by how it automatically changed the lane without my knowledge. This is a typical miracle example we do not appreciate in our lives. However, I thanked God for saving me from a 3-month hospital stay like DeLine. Such preventive miracles often go unnoticed because we do not pray for them.

Miracles in everyday life

We can appreciate the “small miracles” that happen in our daily lives as we grow our relationships with God. As that relationship matures, we feel the presence of God around us. When we pray, we do not make noise because we know God is Immanuel (he is with us), he is omnipresent. We are aware that He is involved in our daily lives no matter how boring they are. Such a relationship transcends what your priest, pastor, Imam, or faithful wise servant taught you about divinity. Knowing the truth that we are equal before God, we can all perform miracles, we can all be a blessing to ourselves and others is liberating. All we need is to obey God’s two greatest commandments: Love your God and your neighbor as you love yourself (Mathew 22: 36-40 NIV).

I strongly believe all God’s faithful followers are blessed by Him through Jesus. He is the only sovereign over everything and everyone. Not your pastor, archbishop, imam, priest, or Faithful Servant. Not even your public leader has the right to control you. These are people like you. They are not special. They sometimes mislead you. Same as some prophets who pretend to speak to God. Or the not-so-perfect NDE storytellers. Or the self-help gurus who teach you how to relate to God. By following Jesus’ two greatest commandments, we are sure of inheriting the kingdom of God.

Whenever you fail to follow the rituals imposed by your church or mosque leaders or doubt if you are on the right path, remember the two commandments. By obeying them, you can be a blessing to your neighbor if they are in trouble. Imagine that elderly person next door who has nobody to care for her. She is praying for the miracle to have food on the table (not because she cannot afford it but because she is too frail to purchase it by herself). If you offer her that service, you become her miracle.

Then, how about the helpless orphans in your neighborhood, the afflicted widows, the homeless, or the people in a mental health crisis? You can be a miracle to any of them. It is up to you. Praying for them will not probably solve their problems right now. When we pray, God eventually persuades somebody else to help them. But what if we can be of immediate help? We probably cannot calm every wave or storm like Jesus. But we can mitigate our neighbors’ sufferings. This is not a social justice teaching. It is a biblical principle.

Thus, we are confident we are part of the miracle movement. We calm their storms of life. We bring happiness to them. At the same time, we receive more blessings from our loving God. We experience inner peace. We know that God will take care of our struggles as we remain in his Word. It is a promise. We are not afraid of the unknown. We are confident heirs of His kingdom.

Shared by Nelson Bryant for Soulprint Ministry/Christ Kingdom Foundation.