Miracles with Purpose

“No, you cannot ascertain the ways of God amid the pathways of men. You may feel the wind as [God] pass[es] and yet see only the swirling dust. The earthly obscures the heavenly.” *

I’ve been reading a devotional by Frances J. Roberts lately called Come Away My Beloved. It’s full of amazing revelation and I highly recommend it. The above quote came out of the passage I read yesterday. So here’s what God showed me out of that:

We have a tendency to see the swirling dust and think that it is God, but God is not the dust. His movement is what puts the dust in motion. Don’t be distracted from God by the things that are merely a consequence of and evidence for His moving and His being. Don’t get caught up in miracles. Though they may wow us, compared to God, they are really not that big of a deal. Instead, get caught up in God Himself. Don’t get caught up in proving that He is. Get caught up in Him – then your life will be proof enough that He exists. Learn to look past the dust. Let it show you where God is moving, and go where He is.

You know, in my own life I could use a few miracles. God has told me that He will recreate Sadey’s ear – that it will blossom like a flower as it grows. (You may ask how I know for sure it was God. I know because I know His voice as Jesus said in John 10:27.) I haven’t seen Sadey’s ear change yet. It looks the same as it did when she was born, only bigger. I could get tripped up by the fact that nothing miraculous has happened yet and get completely sidetracked from what God wants to do. The truth is, some days I do wonder why it seems that nothing has happened yet. On the other hand, when the miracle does take place I could praise the miracle instead of the Miracle Maker. I’ve seen this type of thing happen in the Church. I’ve seen God do some pretty remarkable things, and I’ve seen people get so caught up in the miracles that they begin seeking the miracles instead of God. They go from place to place trying to get another word or prophecy or healing, but so many times that’s the extent of their Christianity. I don’t see them growing closer to God or going into all the world to share the blessings they’ve been given. So often when the first trial comes they fall away from God instead of holding fast to Him and allowing Him to transform them through their circumstances. That’s the best miracle of all – the transformation of sinful, dirty, hurting people into godly, righteous, sanctified children of grace. Such a transformation doesn’t take place through a series of signs and wonders. It takes place in day to day life as we focus on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. When we seek the miracles instead of the Miracle Maker, we have made our foundation on sandy soil, and when the storms and trials of life come, what we have tried to build will be washed away and we will fall.

God showed me yesterday that I am not to look for Sadey’s creative miracle. I’m to look for Him. Her miracle will take place as He promised because of His presence and His moving. Miracles are merely evidence of that – that God is and He is moving. They are simply a consequence of His presence. When the supernatural and the natural meet, the natural must change – it cannot stay the same. But at the same time, God never does anything by accident. Everything He does is intentional. There is a purpose for the miracles. Miracles, signs, and wonders are not meant for the benefit of those who believe on God. These things are for the benefit those people who are yet to believe. God will perform miracles on our behalf, but only so that His purposes, not ours, can be fulfilled. Sadey has an underdeveloped ear so that the power of God can be seen in her (John 9:3), and His glory can be revealed. It has been prophesied that many, many people will give their lives to Christ as a result of God recreating Sadey’s ear. When God recreates her ear it will be so that His purposes can be fulfilled. It is amazing, because as He uses us, He also changes and improves us and the conditions of our lives. So, as you are intent and focused on God, obey Him in everything. He will give you assignments as you pursue Him that will cause miracles to take place in your life as you move in obedience. Your very life will be evidence of God’s being and God’s moving. What a privilege to be used for such a glorious cause!


*Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved. Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, OH. 2002. p. 177.