Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at some of the interesting miracles in the Bible. From the bush that burns but is not consumed to Jesus feeding the 5000+ to him walking on water. They are amazing moments where God uses God’s power in an amazing way. But these miracles are not the flashy ones. They don’t cause the lame to walk or the blind to see. They are moments where God grabs our attention and once God has it, God teaches us. Sometimes we might want to dismiss these miracles because they don’t exactly heal or raise the dead.
But think about this, wouldn’t you say that Moses when God grabs his attention with the bush would have called it a miracle? And what about the couple in Canaa who ran out of wine? Didn’t they think it a miracle that Jesus turned water into wine and saved them from a lifetime of shame. Weren’t the disciples awed by the power of Jesus when he walked on water? And don’t tell me that the 5000+ were not grateful and amazed that out of 5 loaves and two fish they were all fed to the point of being satisfied.
Surely we would call moments in scripture where God does something amazing a miracle. Whether it is water into wine, having the fish spit Jonah out on the beach, feeding the five thousand or a prophet being taken up in a whirlwind, God does some pretty amazing stuff in scripture. Not just in the New Testament either.
But is scripture the only place where God does the amazing?
To any who would say yes to the last question I would issue them the challenge to look closer. Many years ago when I was a RCA camper, and later when I would attend youth group one of the things that we would be challenged to do is to look for moments where we saw God that day. This would normally happen during devotions at the end of the day, and you would hear all the different stories from all over the various areas that your particular group was throughout the day.
Those moments when we would share about the older woman who handed out brownies to the group who repaired her roof, or the story of the kid who helped another when they were hurt didn’t suddenly stop when we got older. To the contrary, they likely happen more often than back then. We are more mobile and travel wider than those mission trips or camp groups. What has changed is that we stopped giving the space to talk about them.
As we look out at the world and we see the hate, the anger and the divisions its hard for us to be hopeful. But if we look deeper, if we give space to talk about the things that God is doing, the small miracles that we have seen or participated in during the day, the darkness grows a little lighter. Let me try and start. While I was running I hit a spot and my legs were done. The rain had started to fall not hard but enough to make me wet. I looked up from the trail and saw a rainbow. That beauty of light that God has given us, that amazing half circle in the sky drew my mind away from the rain, and away from my jello legs. Small God moments happen. Small miracles occur. But it is up to us to tell one another about them. May we share with one another how we have seen God’s hands. Amen.