MIracles and Partnership

The more I grow closer to God, the more I realize that miracles are so much deeper than what the world, and sometimes even the Christian church, makes them seem.

I believe in miracles. I believe Jesus heals. I believe God can speak a word over someone’s life and completely change the direction of it. I believe someone can receive a prophecy that says, “In the next three months, your life will change,” and three months later, everything really does change. I believe someone can be sick, be prayed for, and be healed.

But the more I read Scripture and the more I live life with God, the more I realize something:Suddenly does not mean quickly.

A miracle may happen in one moment, but that does not mean there was not long suffering before it.The woman with the issue of blood had been bleeding for twelve years before she touched Jesus’ garment and was healed. The man at the pool of Bethesda had been dealing with his condition for thirty-eight years before Jesus told him to get up and walk. The blind man did not just lose his sight for a few weeks. He had been blind from birth. Lazarus did not get sick one morning and immediately get healed that afternoon. He became sick, Jesus delayed coming, Lazarus died, and by the time Jesus arrived, he had already been in the tomb for four days. The Israelites were not oppressed in Egypt for a few months. They suffered for generations before Moses ever stood before Pharaoh, before the plagues, before the Red Sea opened, and before their deliverance finally came.

That is what has been making me think.

We love the moment of the miracle.

But sometimes we skip over the suffering that came before it.

And I think the more I grow closer to God, the more I realize that the gift, or maybe even the way to live this life, is learning how to endure. I am not saying there are not beautiful moments. There are. There are moments when God comes through in ways that completely take your breath away. But there is also suffering that comes with following Jesus. That is something I am starting to understand in a deeper way.

When God moves on my behalf, it is because He wanted to.

Not because I forced Him.

Not because I earned it.

Not because I suffered enough.

Not because I prayed enough for Him to finally owe me something.

He moved because He chose to move.

But I also believe miracles can exist in partnership with God.

Last year, I was at risk of losing my job. had one year to pass a test, and my eligibility was going to expire in July. I took the test in June and failed. I took it again in July, three days before the expiration date, and I passed. To me, that was a miracle. But God did not just automatically drop a passing score into my lap.I studied night and day. I cried while studying. I prayed. I fasted. I kept going even after failing. I did everything in my power to pass. And then God ultimately gave me the strength, the endurance, and what I can only describe as divine intelligence to pass that test. I did what was in my hands. God handled what was outside of mine. And even now, looking back, I can see that passing that test and keeping that job became part of something much bigger. That job later helped me realize how much I had fallen in love with fitness and athletics. It gave me the ability to afford a personal trainer. It gave me the ability to buy protein powder, take care of myself differently, and explore a part of myself I did not even know was developing. Those things may sound small to someone else, but to me, they are connected.

What felt like God simply helping me keep a job may have also been God preserving me in a certain place long enough for something else to grow in me.

Sometimes the miracle comes after the difficulty has stretched you.

Sometimes the miracle comes after years.

Sometimes the miracle comes after failure.

Sometimes the miracle comes after tears.

Sometimes the miracle comes after fasting.

Sometimes the miracle comes after obedience.

Sometimes the miracle comes after you have done everything you know how to do, and you finally realize that the outcome was never completely in your hands.

That is partnership with God.

And maybe that is what I am learning now. Long suffering and faith can exist at the same time. Trust and questions can exist at the same time. I can do everything God has placed in my hands and still admit that I am completely dependent on Him for the outcome. I can endure what He has not yet removed. I can trust Him with what I cannot control.

And when He does move, I can recognize that the power was His all along. So I am learning not to measure God’s presence by how quickly He changes my circumstances.

I will do what God has placed in my hands.

I will endure what He has not yet removed.

I will trust Him with what I cannot control.

And if He chooses to move suddenly, I will know that the suddenly may have been years in the making.