Questions: If God Exists, Why Don’t We See More Miracles?
I was a strange little kid. I remember growing up and swimming in my parents’ pool during the summer. I recall enjoying the cold water in the midst of the Amarillo dry heat. I also remember thinking of Peter walking on water every time I would jump into the pool. Sometimes, I would pray and tell God that I had faith to do the same. I would step off the deck and prepare to walk on top of the water….only to go straight to the bottom and receive a mouth full of water.
One common criticism for many concerning Christianity is the question as to why God does not perform the miracles that he used to perform. Indeed, this question can also become much more personal and become: “Why does God not heal me or my family?” And I admit that sometimes I wonder this same thing. I work in health care – I see good people every day suffer from illnesses that they have prayed years to have taken away. Sometimes it can seem that God is silent – that He isn’t listening. Other times it is easy to think of the miraculous as something of the past – a way that God no longer moves. Yet, that can’t be true – why pray for the sick if we believe God will only remain silent. But the question remains: Why is God not moving in the miraculous more noticeably?
I suppose my first answer to this question is a question of my own: How are we so sure that God isn’t moving in the miraculous? Could it be that we often try to explain away things that should be unexplainable acts of God? I recall around three years ago performing an evaluation on a woman that had some type of chronic pain. She was telling me about a severe pain she had been having for years and was near tears as she remarked how long it had been bothering her. I remember feeling like God was leading me to pray for her – thus I asked if she would mind if we prayed together. She readily agreed and I prayed a simple prayer for God to give her relief and healing. I didn’t think too much of it – she felt comfort but no physical change at the end of the prayer. However, the next time I saw her – she told me that for the first time the pain was gone – the first time this had happened in years.
You want to hear the craziest thing about this story? I don’t even remember exactly what I prayed for – I don’t remember if it was her back or some type of hypersensitive painful nerve going down her leg. It truly bugs me that I can’t remember…that I can’t recall the details. Do you want to know why that bothers me so much? Because I believe deep in my mind I never really thought God moved through me – I almost treated it like a coincidence or some type of placebo effect that she experienced. I look at myself and I think about just how skeptical I am…and it makes me repent as I write this. Why am I so blind to the miraculous? Why can’t I just give God the credit?
I suppose many of you have similar stories – stories of God moving that you may have forgotten or not thought about in a long time. I know a man in our church was on his death bed – two friends prayed for him and he recovered fully. The doctors were astounded! I think of the stories I grew up hearing from missionaries – of miracles taking place that defy any explanation. I think of the supernatural guidance God has used to bring me to where I am right now – coincidences that are too perfect to be coincidences. Yet, I still find myself doubting the miraculous. I still find it hard to believe. Perhaps that is because I still have prayers in my life that have not been answered. Perhaps it is because the sin in my life blinds me to God moving.
I do think one reason we don’t see the miraculous as we would like is because of our lack of faith. We pray to God like we are reading our Christmas list to Santa. We say we will pray for people and then we walk off without saying a word to God. We just don’t take our relationship with God seriously. How can we expect to have faith when we barely know God ourselves – when we are still on “baby food” as Paul calls it. (1 Corinthians 3:2)
I also believe that there is another miracle that we have all seen that we don’t take seriously. A miracle that we often push aside and ascribe to self will. That miracle is the change of life that salvation in Christ alone gives us. In the second chapter of Mark we read about a paralyzed man that Christ makes able to walk. The text reads:
“Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men. Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ But some of the scribes were sitting there, thinking to themselves: ‘Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Right away Jesus understood in His spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves and said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your stretcher, and walk’? But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ He told the paralytic, ‘I tell you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.’” (Mark 2:3-11)
This passage has always been remarkable to me for one huge reason: Jesus claims that forgiveness of sins is more miraculous than making a paralyzed man walk. He is making a huge claim here: a changed life spiritually is a bigger miracle than any type of physical healing! This might not sound profound to you but think about this: when you give God your life and accept His salvation to change your destiny: He is performing a miracle at that very moment. When he changes your heart and you draw closer to Him – becoming a new person in the process – He is performing a miracle. Friends, miracles still happen as I am one. I think of the changes God has brought about in my life as I seek Him – the fears, anxieties, struggles, and doubts I have overcome and I see that He has been working miracles in my life daily.
I was able to teach a lecture on apologetics (defending the faith) at a local church around a year ago and got to know several guys that are a part of an organization called “Teen Challenge”. These guys were criminals, drunks, druggies, pimps, and whatever other stereotype you can come up with before they experienced a life change when they came to Christ. I recall talking to them about how God had moved in their lives – the changed desires they now had and the spiritual hunger that was obvious as I talked to them about their testimony. I remember thinking at the time – “This does more to defend the faith than any lecture I can give.”
Thus, I end this in praying that by reading this God can perform a miracle in your life. I pray He meets your physical needs – but more so I pray that He meets your spiritual needs as well. I pray you have friends that show you the miraculous – the growth that they experience in Christ proving His goodness time and time again. I know that several people in my life have shown me the realness of God and pray that He reveals the same to you as well.
“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
