The Miracle Business

The Miracle Business

Our daily world is filled with obligations and demands.  We rush here and there only to slow down for a minimal second.  We wait impatiently for the microwave to finish our prepared meal.  We honk at the car in front of us who hasn’t moved fast enough at the stoplight.  We even pay to have something delivered to our homes overnight from across the continent.  It is no wonder that we are not patient to wait for God’s miracles.  

Anyone who knows me well can tell you am I self proclaimed geek and lover of all things tech related.  I love to see how gadgets have evolved over time.  A computer that used to be as big as a room in the mid-twentieth century can now fit into the palm of my hand and be stored away in my pocket.  This advance in science and technology has led us to be more demanding of results and constantly seeking man made solutions and explanations.  What once was based on faith and hope is replaced with machines and scans.  Don’t get me wrong, I am in awe of the people who followed their calling to heal and I know the One who put them there.  Yet we are not patient in waiting for God’s timing.  We want the miracle on our schedule and we want it now.  

In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus encounters two different people with serious medical afflictions.  In Capernaum while preaching to the crowds a group of friends brought their dear friend, who is paralyzed, to Jesus for healing.  “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”  He saw their faith. They waited for their chance encounter with the One True God believing this is what could heal him.  It was their faith that made it possible.  Later in chapter nine a woman who suffered for 12 years with a bleeding condition merely wanted to touch the edge of Jesus’ garment to be healed.  She knew in the depths of her soul that a touch would be all she needed to receive healing.  She waited and waited, for 12 years. 12. Long. Years.  I can’t imagine waiting 12 months with a serious health issue, let alone 12 years.  Yet it was her faith that sustained her and ultimately provided healing.  

It wasn’t their timing that was the solution.  It wasn’t her constant worrying that healed her.  It was waiting on God and having faith that He was the solution.  If it had been left up to us to solve we would have found an answer in man made methods.  Without waiting we would have never seen the glory of the end of the story.  

It was the faith of those around them that brought Jesus to their need.  He still performs miracles and plans where people need to be to allow those events to occur.  Our world tries to diminish the wonders of miracles or even question their existence.  It is time for us to share with the world that God is not out of the miracle business, it is us who are out of the waiting business.