Recognizing The Small Miracles.

When Christians today hear the word "miracle", our first thought tends to be Jesus in the New Testament, turning water into wine, raising people from the dead, healing the sick, making blind men see again, and so on. We tend to think that miracles are passé and they don't happen anymore, or if they do, it's something huge and profound like someone's cancer going away much to the befuddlement of the doctors, or someone getting out of a car wreck without a scratch.

But what about small miracles?

Last night I was chatting with a friend about a number of different topics - some random, some more serious. I spent time telling him about my own life lately, and how I've seen God working in a specific way.

I alluded to some different situations going on in my life right now that aren't the greatest, and they're the type of situation wherein no one would blame me if I was angry or if I broke down crying. But in spite of those situations, I'm finding myself feeling joyful and content with where I'm at in life. I know that God is good and that He's sovereign in these different things that are going on. And while I do have some negative situations going on, there are plenty of positives in my life that I can choose to focus on instead of fixating on everything that's wrong.

When I finished my personal anecdote, my friend turned to me and said, "That's a miracle, y'know?" I hadn't thought of it that way so puzzled, I paused and then inquired, "...Is it?" His response to my question was an emphatic "Yes!"

He continued to tell me that because of my sheer humanity and sinfulness, there is nothing inside of me (or anyone, for that matter) that draws me to find joy and contentment when crappy situations set in. It's simply human nature to want to focus on the negatives and be angry or upset about them. The fact that I'm able to be joyful and content in the trials of life is completely due to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

I'm so grateful to the Lord for friends who intentionally point me back to Himself.

I went on, telling my friend that I have definitely realized that the joy and strength that I experience every day is from the Lord, but I'd never thought about it as a miracle. Last month I was baptized, and in my testimony, I shared with my church family that the more time that I've been spending with the Lord in prayer and in His Word, the more joy I've been experiencing. And the more joyful I've been, the more I've longed to immerse myself in personal time with the Lord, simply dedicating every aspect of every day to Him. I know that He is the source of all that is good, and I want to be able to see the good in everything.

I can admit that I can be one of the Christians that I talked about at the beginning of this post; I tend to think that the miracles the Lord does in the twenty-first century are huge, ground-breaking things. But I'm learning that God performs miracles even in the life of little ol' me! They may not seem big or ground-breaking, but they're miracles none the less. Our God is so awesome!