Generally, a miracle is an extraordinary event or occurrence which cannot be explained as natural or by any science. It defies all natural and scientific laws but explained as an intervention of the supernatural. It is often attributed to the divine power of an invisible authority. Anything that occurs beyond human comprehension or ability is deemed as a miracle. That divine authority is God and Christ Jesus.
Everybody experiences miracles in one form or another either personally or among relatives or loved ones. We also see or hear miracles in the news or our environment. We often associate miracles with positive incidences. However, a miracle could also be a negative event. When the event inures to our favour we say it’s a miracle but when it is negative, we discount it as a misfortune but both are miracles.
Meaning of miracle
The word ‘miracle’ originates from the Latin word “miraculum” which connotes an object of wonder. In essence, a miracle is an act of amusement or wonder by a supernatural occurrence. If a miracle occurs by a supernatural influence or is driven by a supernatural power, then a miracle does not happen by accident but by a divine orchestration which is outside and beyond the limits of human ability. We can therefore be partakers of positive miracles if we constructively align with divine authority.
Miracles take their roots from the supernatural and like plants they require a good soil in order to yield results. A good soil supports bountiful fruits whereas a bad soil withers away the fruits. God has given us good soil with rich nutrients for his miracles. By divine directions, we reproduce some of the soils as enshrined biblical facts as follows:
Knowing the value of challenges
Without a challenge, there can be no miracle. God intervenes only when our ability falls short, then upon his intervention, we say it is a miracle. For this reason James 1:2 says count it all joy, my brethren when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And steadfastness has its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Challenges mark the dawn of miracles and serve as the watershed for miracles.
Times of challenges, trouble and temptations are rather times of miracles and not for complaints; times of joy and not for sorrows; times to honour God and not disparage him; times for God’s intervention and not for his desertion; and times to embrace Christ and not to walk away from him. All times of miracles are situated in challenges. Examples are Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the flow of blood, Mark 5: 22-43; Larzarus from the dead, John 11: 1-44 and many other miracles which Jesus performed. Do we have challenges? Our miracle is on the way with Christ Jesus.
Knowing the limits of nature
Sometimes, God’s miracles are borne through the vicissitudes of nature when his miracle takes charge. Man is at the mercy of nature although in the beginning, God gave us the power to subdue the earth and to have dominion, Genesis 1: 28. We have lost that power because of sin. Therefore in situations of conflict of power, we need Christ Jesus to restore the situation in our favour. Deuteronomy 30: 19 says I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. See also Jeremiah 21: 8.
In Matthew 8: 26-27 Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea so the people marveled saying, what sort of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him? See also Mark 4: 39-41. God hears and answers calls in times of storms and chaos. He does not orchestrate the problems but may allow them for a purpose. Jesus emphasized this point when he referred to the disaster regarding the eighteen people upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed in Luke 13: 4-5. These are soils which Jesus allows in our lives for his miracles. We do not need to understand save to know that it is for his purpose to glorify his name.
Waiting for God’s plan
God is not subject to man’s dictates but according to his own plan. We cannot change God’s plan neither can we change his decision to answer us or not. Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:10 thus thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In the garden of gethsemane he prayed saying in Matthew 26; 42 my Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done.
Miracles happen when we wait on God with absolute trust. Patience and trust are necessary prerequisite soils for divine intervention. We must subject our will to God’s will not the reverse. In the case of Larzarus in John 11: 39-44, Martha exercised focus and trust with patience and caused the tomb stone to be removed four days after the death of Larzarus. The miracles of Larzarus’ resurrection from the dead back to life then happened. Are we patient with God?
Knowing divine times or seasons
God has a different season for every one in every situation. Our seasons and times for divine appointment may differ, hence our expectations may differ. Such an attitude will make God intervene in our lives at the appointed time without our rush to disappoint ourselves. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-9 (emphasizes on verse 6) says for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die. We must seek knowledge from God of the seasons and apply ourselves to them.
In Acts 2: 1-14, the disciples and people of Christ knew the season and time appointed for the Holy Spirit which Christ Jesus had promised and so gathered prayerfully in expectation even in closed doors and the miracle of the visitation of the Holy Spirit with tongues happened. Wherever we are, if we will study the times and seasons of God’s word, our miracles will surely come. We must ask God for our time and season and he who has promised us will never fail at the appointed time.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, in our state of unbelief, impatience, lack of knowledge and failure to acquire divine wisdom through your word, we have missed your intervention in our lives. Heal us of our anxieties and retool us with patience to wait on you. Let your power and authority for miracles overwhelm us in bewilderment to the point of total submission unto your holy name, Amen!!
