Little Miracles - Or are they Little?

Many times I see miracles from God. He gives me answers to questions, he does things for those I pray for and he brings me comfort in the midst of confusion.

This week, I've been visiting my daughter in Princeton, BC. Her two daughters, Hope and Faith, left Thursday morning for a music festival in Squamish. They would be tenting there for three nights. It should have been a 4 or 5 hour drive to Squamish, so we kept waiting for them to call and tell us they got there safely.

By 6:00 pm, we were getting worried. We tried to call and text them, but it said, "No service." My daughter, Christine, couldn't understand how there could be no service. I said, "It must be because there are thousands of people there using phones." Sometimes, that shuts down cell phone service.

I went online and looked up the festival on the internet. Someone had taken photos of the crowds and there was a girl that looked like my Faith!  I passed my laptop to Christine and asked, "Isn't that Faith?"  She looked hard and said, "There is a red Coopers bag beside this girl and Faith took one and there is also a tent bag like ours."  I said, "See, the girls are there and are safe."

But Christine couldn't believe it. She said she couldn't believe out of all the thousands of people at the festival a picture of her daughter would show up.  I said, "It's a gift from God to you." But she doubted it. She also became very, very upset and didn't know what to do. She wondered if we should drive there.

Finally, at 11:00 pm Christine remembered Hope had a bracelet to buy stuff at the festival and she could look online and see if Hope had used it. At first the password was wrong, but Christine finally remembered it; and yes, Hope had used it. So, now she knew for sure they were okay.

I am so used to God`s little miracles that I knew the photo was from him. I never felt really worried because I`ve also learned through the years to trust my family to God. That hasn`t been easy to learn, believe me. Mothers have the hardest time leaving their children in God`s hands. It isn`t that I know God won`t let anything bad happen to them; it is that I trust God that whatever happens he will be with them and me. My grandson died 4 years ago; so I know this from experience. God was with him, and he was with our family.

Food in The Wilderness.

Photo by:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Eugenio_Hansen,_OFS

Then they (Israel) spoke against God; They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? "Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?"  Psalm 78:19,20

for they did not believe in God

or trust in his deliverance.

Yet he gave a command to the skies above

and opened the doors of the heavens;

he rained down manna for the people to eat,

he gave them the grain of heaven.

Human beings ate the bread of angels;

he sent them all the food they could eat.  Psalm 78:22-25

Although God had worked so many miracles for Israel, each time they were in need of something they did not trust God. As crazy as it sounds to humans, yes, God can furnish a table of food in the wilderness.

Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?"  He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”  John 6

Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take more than half a year's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" Mark 6:37

This took place at the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples had just returned from their missionary journey where they had healed the sick and cast out demons. (Mark 6). Jesus tested them on their faith. Would they say to Jesus, "We know you can provide bread." No, they only saw the impossibility of his request.

Feeding of the 4,000.

And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, "I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way."

The disciples said to Him, "Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?"

Even though they had seen Jesus feed 5,000 people earlier, they still lacked insight and faith that they could do anything, even with Jesus standing right there in front of them.

When I read this I thought about myself. Do I believe God can put a feast into my wilderness? Do I think my problems are insurmountable? Even though he has helped me in the past do I forget what he has done? 

Whatever your wilderness is, God can do something. It may not be exactly what we want, but he can do something wonderful for us in our dry, empty wilderness. The best thing he does is hold our hand and walk through the wilderness with us. We are never alone.

"I was so foolish and ignorant--I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:22-26

Going Around the Same Mountain.

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 
1Peter 1:6,7

I'm such a whiner and coward that I have always hated going through dark times. Times of depression, sickness, pain, family troubles and deaths of those I love. I know from my attitude during these times that my faith is weak and I have a lot to learn. I had read that we become better people because of suffering, but that was a small comfort.

I started noticing that when I failed a test badly that later on the test came again, perhaps years later, but you can bet I noticed it was the same test. 

Example: My oldest daughter went through 27 hours of terrible pain when she was in childbirth. Finally, she had to have a cesarian section. Watching her writhing in pain for so many hours deeply affected me. I thought of all the women in the world who had died giving birth and this thought made me angry at God. This was a new feeling for me; I had never felt angry at God before.

I went through years of questioning the wisdom of God and his love for us. I quit praying and reading the Bible. I wanted nothing to do with him. After a few years of this, I got sick of my angry attitude and asked him to forgive me and take me back. I could feel his presence immediately. I said to him, "I might get mad at you again!" I felt him speak to my mind, "I can take anything you can dish out." Wow. I was amazed and humbled by God's own humility and love for me.

Years later, after my youngest daughter had three children she became sick with a super-bug that would not leave her body. It was lodged in her tonsils, but they couldn't operate right away. One day she became worse and was in such terrible pain she couldn't swallow. Doctors said they had never seen a throat like hers. Eventually, they operated and one day, while she was recuperating at home, she began to spit up blood. Her husband and I were with her and he rushed her to the hospital. I remember standing at the window looking at them drive away and knowing she could die and I might never see her alive again.

Was I angry at God through all of this pain and threat of death? Honestly, no, not for one moment, which still shocks me. I prayed for my daughter and then left her in God's hands for whatever he decided for her life. She did make it, barely. To stop the bleeding they had to pack her throat with cocaine, at least that's what my son-in-law said. The surgeon had nicked something during her first operation and it was repaired.

So, what does going through fire with God mean? Somehow, through the Holy Spirit I guess, we learn from one suffering how to get through the second with more faith and courage. I mean, everyone suffers in this world. Those without God, I don't know what they learn. But, I'm a Christian and I think I learned a bit. I think I learned to accept the sufferings of those I love and leave them in God's hands.

I will sheepishly share Mountain #2 that I went through recently. I know there are many, many Christians who have more faith and trust in God than I do. I just want to share what I have learned through suffering.

Do Not Put Faith in People.

by Dwight L. Moody

FAITH IS AN OUTWARD LOOK. 

We are to have faith in God, and not in man. A great many people place their faith in men, and they pin their faith to other people’s doctrines and creeds. If their church teaches it, they believe it. All the churches in the world can’t save a soul. It is not to have faith in this church or that church, this doctrine or that doctrine, this man or that man, but it is to have faith in the man Christ Jesus at the right hand of God. That is the only faith that will ever save a soul.

PUT NO CONFIDENCE IN MAN. 

Let me call your attention to a few verses where God has warned us not to put faith in man: Jeremiah xvii. 5: “Thus says the Lord; Cursed be the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” You will find some men have not faith in God; they are like a tree that is withered and blasted. And there is a man perhaps right along next to them who has strong faith in God; “he is like a tree planted by the rivers of water; his leaf also shall not wither.” Why? He trusts in the living God. 

It is a terrible thing for man to put faith in man. Then Psalm cxlvi. 3: “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 

"“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; ...Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” 

Now here we are told very plainly by God that we are not to put our trust in this man or that man—not to lean upon an arm of flesh. All the ministers in the world and all the potentates in the church put together cannot save one soul. It is thoroughly impossible. 

It is the Lord who can save, and the Lord alone; therefore we want to get our eyes away from man, from the church, and right straight up to the man Christ Jesus. We read in Mark 11:22 whom we are to believe in. Christ says—and how sweet it sounds—“Have faith in God.” I never saw a man or woman in my life that had faith in God who was confounded; I do not care what their troubles or trials were. Have faith in God, and not in man.

Dwight L. Moody on Trust.

By Dwight L. Moody

TRUSTING. 

Many get hold of that when they cannot get hold of “believe” or “receive.” You all know what it is to trust. If it were not for trust, there would be a terrible commotion in this building to-night. If you could not trust that the roof was firmly put up, you would get out pretty quick; and if you could not trust these chairs to support you, how long would you sit on them? Why, you wouldn’t have come here at all if you didn’t trust our word that there would be an address.

Now, it is just the same trust that God wants. It is no miraculous trust or faith, but just the same kind, only the object is different. Instead of trusting in these earthly things, or in an arm of flesh, you are asked to trust in the Son of God.

THE DUBLIN MERCHANT. 

In Dublin I was speaking to a lady in the inquiry-room, when I noticed a gentleman walking up and down before the door. I went forward and said, “Are you a Christian?” He was very angry, and turned on his heel and left me.

The following Sunday night I was preaching about “receiving,” and I put the question, “Who’ll receive Him now?” That young man was present, and the question sank into his heart. The next day he called upon me—he was a merchant in that city—and said, “Do you remember me?” “No, I don’t.” “Do you remember the young man who answered you so roughly the other night?” “Yes, I do.” “Well, I’ve come to tell you I am saved.” “How did it happen?” “Why, I was listening to your sermon last night, and when you asked, ‘Who’ll receive Him now?’ God put it into my heart to say, ‘I will’; and He has opened my eyes to see His Son now.” I don’t know why thousands should not do that here to-night. If you are ever to be saved, why not now?

"As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."  Hebrews 3:15

We All Belong to God.

 "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him." Psalm 24:1


I read this verse yesterday morning after praying for my daughter who was having some trouble. I believe the Lord was telling me my daughter belonged to Him. Her life was in his hands and I was not to worry.

I take seriously this verse: "Do not be worried about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 Philippians 4:6

My mind runs to worry as a river runs to the sea. I'm disciplining my mind to take every single worry to God and Scripture doesn't lie; He gives me the peace that passes my understanding. I just want to thank and praise him for that today.

Calm in the Storm.

Photo by: Malene Thyssen

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boelge_stor.jpg

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  Mark 4:37,38

Charles Spurgeon writes about this event: Within the Lord there was a great calm, and that is why there was soon a great calm around Him for what is in God comes out of God. Since there was calm in Christ for Himself, there was afterwards a calm outside for others.

Jesus had perfect confidence in God that all was well. The waves might roar, the winds might rage, but He was not at all disquieted by their fury. He knew the waters were in the hollow of God's hand...He was not troubled, no, he had not even a careful thought. He was as much at ease as on a sunny day. His mind and heart were free from every kind of care.

W have not half the confidence in God that we ought to have, not even the best of us. The Lord deserves our unbounded belief, our unquestioning confidence, our undisturbed reliance. Oh, that we rendered it to Him as the Saviour did!

Spurgeon goes on to write about how some people have trouble sleeping because of their fears and doubts. They go to bed worried for their children or others they love. I have done this myself. Sometimes, instead of having perfect peace within myself that God is working and does all things well - I worry. 

Jesus said to his friends, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

I hope and pray that one day I will be like Jesus, who was not afraid of anything but trusted in God's wisdom and love.

Prayer This Morning.

Dear friends, I was in prayer about Jordan this morning and the words came to me saying, "Remember what Joyce said, 'Believe God is working.'"

I felt all the tension leave my body and I said, "I believe Lord. I believe you are working for Jordan."

I'm afraid that believing and resting in God doesn't come easy for me. I only learned this last year, although I have been a Christian since I was 19. I used to pray and then still carry at least half the burden.

Thank you for your prayers.

God's Thoughts.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Know him in all your ways and he will direct your paths."
 Proverbs 3:5-6

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
 Isaiah 55:8-9

I am always trying to understand the world and God - sometimes I am trying to understand God's dealings with the world.  I always want to know the "why" of everything. Sometimes I "lean on my own understanding" instead of trusting the Lord with all my heart. I do find however,  if something bothers me a lot and I ask God about it he usually shows me the answer.

When I look at photos of the galaxies and I see that God made the billions of stars I realize I need to let go of my understanding and always believe he knows what he is doing.  His ways are higher than mine. His thoughts are higher than mine. He has all the answers to all my questions, and if I don't know the answer now, I will know one day.

Having Faith When You are Sick.

I read this story a few weeks ago. The bed-ridden man in this story had great faith and peace with God. I thought I would share it with you.

One of the happiest men I ever knew was a man in Dundee, Scotland, who had fallen and broken his back when he was a boy of fifteen. He had lain on his bed for about forty years, and could not be moved without a good deal of pain. Probably not a day had passed in all those years without acute suffering. But day after day the grace of God had been granted to him, and when I was in his chamber it seemed as if I was as near heaven as I could get on earth. I can imagine that when the angels passed over Dundee, they had to stop there to get refreshed.

When I saw him, I thought he must be beyond the reach of the tempter, and I asked him: "Doesn't Satan ever tempt you to doubt God, and to think that He is a hard Master?"

"Oh, yes," he said, "he does try to tempt me. I lie here and see my old schoolmates driving along in their carriages, and Satan says: 'If God is so good, why does He keep you here all these years? You might have been a rich man, riding in your own carriage.' Then I see a man who was young when I was walk by in perfect health, and Satan whispers: 'If God loved you, couldn't He have kept you from breaking your back?'"

"What do you do when Satan tempts you?"

"Ah, I just take him to Calvary, and I show him Christ, and I point out those wounds in His hands and feet and side, and say, 'Doesn't He love me?' and the fact is, he got such a scare there eighteen hundred years ago that he cannot stand it; he leaves me every time."

That bedridden saint had not much trouble with doubts; he was too full of the grace of God.

D.L. Moody

http://christianbookshelf.org/moody/moodys_anecdotes_and_illustrations/index.html

God Will Supply All Our Needs.

Jesus said, "So do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear?'
These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. But seek first his kingdom and his goodness and he will give you everything you need. So, don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's troubles is enough for today."

I think of these verses often. I need to learn to lean on God and not worry when thinks look dark. One time, my husband and I had fifty cents to buy food and that was all. I bought some stale bread and thanked God for it. That evening my husband brought home money from his new job. He had asked for an advance and they had given it to him. I was so grateful. It was the only time we had to do that. We also had no place to live and no money, we slept in the car one night but it was hard to sleep.  Hubby asked a motel guy if we could live there and pay later. God gave us favor in this man's mind and he man said yes. We now had a temporary home. During this hard time our daughters were visiting their real father for a month so they never knew how bad it got. I was thankful for that also. God did supply our needs. 

Trusting.

I was reading Isaiah tonight and came to the verse I remind myself about quite often.

"He will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is kept on Him."

I also read in Joyce Meyer's online magazine about trusting that God has a good plan for your life. Whenever I hear that I cringe. I don't feel my life has had a good plan, but that is just a feeling.

When I look around at my family, in spite of our troubles we believe in God. We have food, clothing and shelter. We have had lots of great times, happy times. Yet I always fear the future because of the bad things that have happened. I know bad things will happen again one day and it scares me.

I trust God will be with me and will help me. I trust in in wisdom and goodness. I'm just a coward plain and simple.

Oh well, I'll keep on truckin' and I'll keep on trying to trust and not to think of the future like Jesus said, "So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

In Quietness.

The nation of Israel was afraid of their enemies. They sent to Egypt for help. God told them they should not rely on swift horses or other nations for help, but to rely on Him.

"In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
But you were unwilling, and you said,.'No, we will flee upon horses...'"

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
And therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for him."

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left." Isaiah, Chapter 30.

Sometimes I go to people for help and answers and I think that is okay once in awhile. But I think the Lord wants us to go to him for help and direction most of the time. If we go to him in quietness and trust then we will hear his words in our heart.