I often find myself in the land of 'yikes'. Yikes, the covid numbers are staggering, Yikes, my tire sensor is flashing, Yikes, my mom needs her pacemaker battery changed. Yikes, my friend is in need of prayer. Yikes, my Kroger bill was more than I anticipated. Yikes, I have yet another rash. Yikes, the Dunns... yikes, the Cavaliers... Anyone else dwell in this land at times? Several days ago, I actually found myself looking in the mirror, counting the spots that made up, yet, another rash of unknown origin. That's when the Holy Spirit spoke: "Yikes. Are you counting all you see as wrong? I would prefer you count all you see as right. Let your 'yikes' be in response to the miracles I provide each and every day." Yikes 🙊
And, as our great God does for us, John 21:25 sprang into my mind, "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen" For the first time, I saw the enormity of the quantity of His miracles. I've read this verse before, but this time, I saw, I grasped the words God inspired John to write. The words that now leapt off the page of my Bible. God says that Jesus did so many miracles, the world could not contain the BOOKS written about them. Not, the world could not contain the miracles of Jesus (which is an enormous quantity itself), but that the world could not contain the books of miracles He has performed. Beginning with the miraculous way in which Jesus was born, there are 40 miracles written of in the 4 Gospels. Forty events that took place that cannot be described with any other explanation except that each one was a miracle. Billy Graham said, "Jesus performs miracles to demonstrate God is with Him--that He is the promised Savior." Having our eyes opened to see this, that God is with Jesus, we also see that He is with us as we witness, recognize the miracles in our own lives. As I thought about these truths, the thought that impacted me most was that each and every miracle I witness points to Jesus, to His divine nature, to Him being the Son of God and to Him being God Himself. That's the miracle--His divinity is being proven each and every time. It's like the miracle is for our pleasure, the performance of the miracle is for His glory. Miracles surround us and they all point to Him. The birth of a beloved child (Jesus' birth), the healing of our health (Jesus' healing of so many), the protection from known and unknown dangers (Jesus' protection in the lion's den, in the firy furnace), the provision we receive daily (the manna from heaven), the helpers He puts around us (Jesus' disciples who ministered to and took care of each other via His example). I would encourage us, all, to purposefully search for the miracles that happen in our lives each and every day. Be intentional in seeing that God is not only with Jesus, as He displays His power, but, that He is also with us. If Jesus is in us and God is in Him, then He is also in us. We have full access to God our Father, in Jesus His Son, through the Holy Spirit our helper. Is this not the greatest miracle of all?!
Today, I choose to live in the land of 'Yikes' as I look into my loved ones' faces, remember each of you-my fellowship community, as I recall His hand of protection all those times I saw it and for those times I did not, as I gratefully enjoy 3 meals a days, as I step out my front door and drink in the beauty of the world He has before me. My cry will be, "Yikes! Look at all my God has done for me. So many miracles if I were to write them down, I could not house the books that contained each and every miracle." When we see Jesus in everything, then we can begin to be more like Him. Seeing the world and everyone in it through His eyes. Loving one another, loving our neighbors as ourselves, loving our enemies, is only possible when we first recognize that He is, both, the miracle itself and the one who performs the miracle. He is the great I AM. 'Who is the miracle?' I AM the miracle. 'Who performed this miracle?' I AM performed this miracle. When we see He is in everything, we see He IS everything! Seeing He is everything causes us to count it all as miracles.
May your day be filled with miraculous revelations of His presence within you.
Yikes!