I’m pretty sure we can all agree that in life, there are seasons. Seasons of happiness and thriving, seasons of slowness and growing, seasons of waiting and questioning. Some seasons we enjoy, while others, we probably wish we didn’t have to walk through. Maybe you are like me, guilty on focusing on the mess instead of the miracles. The good parts and not the growing parts. We get our eyes off of Jesus and we miss what He has for us! We forget that sometimes the miracle is lying in the mess. You keep asking God for that ONE thing and the messy reality is that He is answering you in HIS time but in the process, the miracle is what He is doing IN you while you wait. Let’s look in the book of Mark for a minute. In chapter 5, we know that Jesus’ disciples saw Him free the woman from her illness and suffering. They saw Him heal Jairus’ daughter. In Mark 6, they were given power by Christ to drive out demonic spirits and heal many that were sick! Then, we know in that same chapter that the people were hungry and there was two fish and five loaves and right before their eyes, they saw how Jesus replenished the food over and over again to feed the thousands! This wasn’t hear say. This wasn’t a story someone told them. They saw it with their own eyes. In fact, they were part of the miracle itself.
But then, we get to the latter part of Mark 6. The disciples get in a boat and end up in some choppy waters. They were terrified. They questioned where Jesus was and they feared their ending had come. But what they didn’t realize was up on the mountain, Jesus had been praying and He saw them in their distress. He went out to them to offer peace but the Bibles says (v49) “But they saw Him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit”.
Let’s think about it for a second. They had been with Him for days, watched Him work miracles, change peoples lives and even use them to help Him but when they were struggling, afraid and questioning, they didn’t even recognize who He was! Could it be true that the disciples had saw all of the amazing and miraculous things God had done, but never personally applied what they heard and saw?
How many times have you seen the miracle but never let it change you? How sad it was that Jesus watched the disciples from the mountain, came down to rescue them, walked across water to get to them, and they still didn’t recognize Him because they were afraid! Are you guilty? I am! I, often times, allow fear and frustration to settle in and completely miss what He is doing right in front of me! They cried out in fear and frustration instead of faith! But that’s not how the story ends. In Mark 6:50 the Bible says “….and IMMEDIATELY He talked with them and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid”. I love that word, “Immediately”. He climbed right up in their mess, calmed their storm, settled their fear and He did it immediately! That’s just who He is!
Romans 12:2 tells us that transformation (change) comes from the renewing of our mind. It’s a shift in our thinking! Do you need to shift your thought pattern? Are you stuck in the mess and you are missing the miracle? Do you need to “renew” your mind and ask God to bring back to memory all the times He has never left you or forsaken you? Maybe you have been praying for a long time asking God for the same thing over and over again and you can’t see Him moving, but what you don’t realize is He is on His way….coming down the mountain and across the sea just to calm the storm all around you and even in you!
When you are filled with doubt and questions, I encourage you to look back at the miracles that God has worked in your life, in the lives of those around you and call back to memory the times He has even worked through you to help someone else and don’t allow the miracles to get lost in the mess!
Tiffani Holley
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