Session 36

Miracles are more than moments

From 1 Samuel: A 6-Week Devotional

Most of us know of a miracle—a friend with breast cancer now cancer free; a quadruple bypass survivor walking 3 miles every day; or a baby born with what was a fatal condition a few years ago, alive and happy today.

We think of a miracle as an unexplained pleasing outcome that is not what the situation suggested would happen. God, the ultimate miracle worker, is not bound by time nor surprised when our need far exceeds our expectation. In fact, that is when He shows up in a powerful way, doing what only He can do.  

What looks like a miracle in the moment is a sustained movement of God over a long time.

The cancer-free friend was sick long before surgery set her free. The bypass patient’s heart weakened long before a skilled medical team and world class technology gave him a new future. The baby grew with the life-threatening defect until the work of others changed a death sentence into a life of hope. More than just modern medical science, these are miracles of God.

For generations, people have used their God-given minds, medical learning opportunities, and willingness to improve, so we can almost view cancer survival, heart bypass, and saved babies as expected. What looks like a miracle in the moment is a sustained movement of God over a long time to produce miracle upon miracle to meet great immediate needs. God’s movement over time in this way is a big miracle.  

Hannah says, in her prayer thanking God for the miracle of her son, “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 2:8).  On these foundations, He has built current and future miracles through people for thousands of years—miracles which are changing lives all around us every day.

Reflect:

• Why are miracles hard to believe in and expect?
• What is one way you can live expecting to see God’s miracles?
• What specific miracle do you need to pray for?