So many of the people I pray for have health issues. As a retired physician, I find myself unconsciously analyzing people’s prognoses based on what I know about their health issues. I find myself thinking, “Wow! That cancer is stage 3 or 4. That’s going to take a real miracle from you Lord, for her to be healed.” Or, “He’ll get better. We can treat that now.” I catch myself prioritizing which people to pray for miracles for.
I am reminded that all healing is miraculous. Even getting over the common cold happens because our “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) immune systems work just the way God made them to work. How many minor cuts and abrasions heal, regenerating new and perfect skin (or maybe with a scar, but whole, nonetheless) without our giving it a second thought? Broken bones, properly set, return to normal function with the knitting of the bone ends that occurs while we just wait, maybe in a cast or brace. Yes, God is operative in all healing, because He made our bodies to recover from injury, infection and even cancers. Sometimes it requires the assistance of health care professionals, but their knowledge and expertise come from God. All the advances in science and medicine that have occurred over the centuries have come about in God’s timing and by His will.
We tend to think of miracles in terms of huge, extraordinary events, remembering how Jesus turned water into wine, broke bread and fish to feed thousands, gave sight to the blind, and even raised some people from the dead. We miss miracles occurring all the time because we take things for granted. We forget to think about how the little, automatic things work in our world. Like the sun rising every morning or the very fact that our planet orbits the sun faithfully, never spinning off course or out of control. In Luke 12:24 & 27, Jesus tells us “Consider the ravens. They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them…Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.” Jesus was saying this to remind us that God takes care of us and we are not to worry, but thinking about these things reminds me how miraculous these little things are. I plant my bulbs and perennials once. Every year they sprout, grow and bloom. I watch the birds foraging in the snow and wonder how on earth they keep warm. I’m inside a heated home, shivering as they spend their entire existence outdoors. And their body mass is so small. That is truly miraculous!
Dear Lord, please open my eyes to appreciate your miraculous presence in every part of our world and to ever be grateful for all your provision.
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