In The Midst of Miracles

“Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?  Or the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets full you picked up?”  (Matt. 16:9-10).

Hey Gang, warriors of the Branch, I came across this devotion recently and sensed God would have me send some thought from it along to you.  It was written and archived by David Wilkerson and dated June 23, 2011, but David had been killed in an auto accident a month before that date. 

David was a dynamic minister of God, writer of The Cross and the Switchblade and founder of Teen Challenge.    One might think that God would have placed a mantel of protection around him and his family, but such was not the case.  David suffered with cancer at an earlier age as did his wife.  Both were victorious in their battle.  At present his grandson is battling fourth stage pancreatic cancer. 

In the midst of all of these wilderness experiences, David WIlkerson shared the good news that he was living “In the Midst of Miracles’.  As I read of his many trials, I asked myself the question, Would I have had the strength and courage to write such an article? You may be in the midst of a miracle right now and simply do not see it.  It may be that you are waiting for a miracle. You’re discouraged because things seem to be at a standstill. You do not see any evidence of God’s supernatural work on your behalf.

Consider what King David says in Psalm 18: “In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came to his ears.  Then the earth shook and quacked; and the foundations of the mountains were trembling and were shaken…Smoke went up from His nostrils and fire from His mouth devoured…He bowed the heavens also, and came down…The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice…He sent out his arrows, and lightning flashes in abundance” (Psalms 18:6-9, 13-14).   

Keep in mind, none of these things literally happened.  It was something that David saw in his spiritual eyes and that, my friends, is faith- when you believe God has heard your cry and that he hasn’t delayed or isn’t ignoring your petition.  Instead, He quietly began your miracle immediately when you prayed, and even now He’s doing supernatural work on your behalf.  This is truly believing in miracles, His marvelous progressive work in our lives.

King David understood the foundational truth beneath it all: “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19)).  He also declared: “I know why the Lord is doing all this for me.  It’s because he delights in me.”

Sooooo, I truly believe in instantaneous miracles because I have seen them with my own eyes.  God is still working glorious, instant wonders in the world today.   In Matthew 16:9-11 and Mark 8:19-21, Jesus reminds the disciples of the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000.  He is asking them and us to take note of His progressive miracles and their role in our own lives today. 

Blessings, 

Gramps

PS God probably brought this to our attention at this time, because we are still in the midst of an unseen miracle – that of complete healing for Gramps.  But we have seen God’s Presence and peace at every turn and many times when just the right thing happened, or people in the right places or opportunities to minister God’s love and grace!  We have not wavered in our trust in Father God and His purpose for our lives.