One of the benefits we are able to experience with streaming church online is the option to push pause. In the comfort of our living room, each of us has the ability to simply blurt out, “Wait, can someone push pause?” The sermon stops, and then we can make a comment or ask a question.
This past Sunday we were finishing a series on the book of Daniel. We were right at the part where Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. As one of the most famous Bible stories, most of us know that Daniel exited the den, unharmed, not even a scratch.
It’s at this point our 12-year-old daughter said, “Wait, why did so many people in the Bible get to experience miracles, and we don’t really see them happen today? Why did God save people like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they stood up for Him, but today there are missionaries and others that get killed even though they have faith? Why don’t they get miracles?”
As I pushed “pause” on the remote, we were able to have a discussion in the middle of the suspended sermon. I told our daughter that it was indeed a great question! Yes, there certainly are a lot of supernatural provisions/healings/rescues that we read about in God’s Word . . . the Bible is full of encouraging events and miracles . . . but not everyone had the same results.
I explained that Stephen was the first martyr; he stood up for Jesus and was stoned to death. My husband then added the tragic fact that most of the apostles were murdered too. We can’t explain God’s will as to why He chooses to give miracles to some, and also allows others to suffer. Back then, and still today.
Then my husband posed a simple but profound question to our daughter, “Is it better to have something good keep happening to you OR something bad happens that gets fixed?”
She replied, “I guess it’s better if something bad doesn’t happen in the first place.”
He then said, “People tend to only consider something a miracle if a horrible situation is supernaturally resolved. Instead, try seeing a miracle in the many events where a negative circumstance never occurred.”
There are so many daily blessings that get overlooked. Just because something drastically dire does not take place, it doesn’t mean that we don’t experience amazing outcomes.
Too often our outlook on miracles can be murky, overcast with disappointment in not clearly seeing a dramatic rescue.
But maybe the miraculous can be seen in a different light . . . perhaps if we counted all the situations in life that don’t require a supernatural turnaround, we might just be able to marvel at the extraordinary ordinary that often gets taken for granted.
“He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:27 NLT)
My Miracles: I am thankful I have never been in a major car accident, or had to worry about food/shelter, or been in the position where I literally needed to be rescued from a pack of lions . . . What are some of your extraordinary ordinary miracles that you are thankful for?