Written by Have you ever seen the movie Miracle on 34th Street? The film is a classic Christmas favorite: I’ve been watching it since I was a kid. (FYI, the original film came out in 1947.) If you haven’t seen it, the story is about a beloved department store Santa Claus, who claims to be the real Santa; he then becomes a target of a competitor’s campaign to get him declared insane. Although the way I’ve described the plot doesn’t sound very jolly at all, it really is a delightful movie.
My favorite part of the film is at the end when little Susan receives everything on her Christmas wish list. I won’t spoil the ending by revealing what she wanted, but let’s put it this way: it was wayyyy more impossible than the Easy-Bake oven I requested when I was Susan’s age.
It was more than a dream come true…
It felt like a miracle.
Miracles? Sure, but not for me.
Do you believe in miracles?
You might answer yes to the idea of a miracle happening, but when it comes to believing that a miracle could happen for you, perhaps you’re a bit more skeptical about that possibility.
Believe me, I get it. There are lots of people who struggle with the same problem—even people in the bible!
Take Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, for example. The gospel writer Luke tells us that Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, are old and childless, even though they had prayed for children (Luke 1:7). Their situation presumably caused them great shame, and at their age, they had given up hope of becoming parents.
However, while Zechariah was performing his priestly duties in the temple, an angel appeared to tell him that his prayers had been answered: God had chosen him and Elizabeth to bear a son who would be the forerunner of the promised Messiah (verses 13–17).
I don’t know about you, but I’d like to think that if an angel appeared to me (it already sounds like a miracle, no?), I might tend to believe what the angel said.
That, however, was not the case for Zechariah.
Instead, he doubted the angel’s message, pointing out that he and Elizabeth were well beyond childbearing years. In other words, he couldn’t believe that God might have a miracle in store for him and Elizabeth—angel or no angel.
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is also old.” (Luke 1:18)
His lack of faith resulted in him being struck mute until the baby was born.
Oh dear.
In some ways, it serves him right for arguing with an angel of the Lord.
Yet, how many of us would also have failed to believe in the possibility of receiving our own personal miracle?
I suspect there are quite a few of us.
A Case for Miracles
As we count down the days until Christmas—a celebration of the miraculous birth of God’s son—I want to ignite a desire in each of you for supernatural solutions to the problems and struggles you may have long given up on.
Why?
Advent is the season of miracles.
Consider the birth story of Jesus. It is replete with miracle after miracle:- Mary’s miraculous conception (Luke 1:26-38)
- Elizabeth’s pregnancy (Luke 1:5-25)
- Joseph’s dream (Matt 1:18-25)
- The Star of Bethlehem (Matt 2:1-2)
- The Journey of the Wise Men and their Gifts (Matt 2:1-12)
- Simeon’s Prophecy (Luke 2:25-35)
- Anna’s Testimony (Luke 2:36-38)
- The Angels and the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-14)
- A Divine Warning to Escape to Egypt (Matt 2:13-15)
Miracles did not stop once Jesus was born. His ministry was marked by countless supernatural occurrences, including healings, deliverances, the multiplication of food, and even money to pay bills. (Remember how Jesus told Peter to look for tax money in the mouth of a fish?)
“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”(Matt 17:27)
Even after Jesus died, the miracles continued; indeed, He promised that they would. Jesus told his followers they should expect to do everything He did and more.
This includes miracles.
“You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.” (John 14:12)
What Stops Us
The risk of disappointment feels far too great…
I get it.
A few months after Jeff and I moved into our Airstream travel trailer, I hurt my back so badly that I could not walk without extreme pain. I was more or less confined to my bed. The doctors weren’t sure if it was due to arthritis in my hips or protruding discs in my back (a common problem in former gymnasts.) Although I understood the prognosis from the medical experts, I refused to let their words penetrate my heart.
I believed that Jesus would heal me miraculously.
Since Easter Sunday was just around the corner, I expected to go to church (even though it was agony to sit in the car) and then go up for prayer and be healed.
Easy peasy.
Only that’s not what happened. I went home with as much pain as I arrived.
The disappointment was, let’s be honest, devastating.
I don’t know what was worse—the pain in my back or the pain in my heart. I felt God let me down and I didn’t know what to do with that.
It was almost enough to put me off believing in a miracle again.
Why We Need to Keep Believing
Although I didn’t get healing the way I thought I would (Resurrection Sunday and all that), I was eventually healed. It was longer and slower than I wanted, but God taught me to trust Him and not lose hope along the way. For me, that looked like a roller coaster ride of emotion—lots of tears and ranting at God—and continuing to remind myself what Jesus said in His word. As I’ve said in the past, emotions are real, but they aren’t always true. Jesus’ word is true.
It was a process (and isn’t that often the way it is with God?). Miracles can come in an instant or as the result of the long, slow transformation that almost always starts in our hearts.
A transformed heart is perhaps the greatest miracle of all.
And that is a miracle worth believing in.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezk 36:26)
My miracle manifested 👆
How to Cultivate A Lifestyle of Miracles
If you’ve never expected miracles to happen for you, I encourage you to reconsider.
I suggest you begin by seeking out every instance of the miraculous in Scripture. Yes—I want you to meditate on the miracles. As you do so, ask God what He wants you to learn about each miracle. Ask Him to show you what you believe that contradicts His truth.
Also, look for promises in scripture that encourage you to expect supernatural occurrences in your life.
“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” (Mark 11:23)
Second, learn to acknowledge all the painful emotions that can come with expecting God to answer miraculous prayers. Let’s face it: Trusting God has a cost. But unless we step out in faith, we may never get the miracle we are hoping for. Because His timing and methods differ from how we might want or expect Him to act, we have to get good at acknowledging the fear, disappointment, and anger that bubble up along the way.
Painful emotions will be there whether you choose to process them or not. It’s not a sin to experience painful emotions. That is part of the human experience. Feeling angry or sad doesn’t mean you don’t trust God or have hope for a different outcome. What you do with them determines the sin—do you hold on to them and believe them, or do you discuss them with God? When those emotions pop up, I highly encourage you to take them to Jesus.
How can we trust God for a miracle when we can’t even trust Him with our hearts? Let’s get used to taking the pain and fear of disappointment to the one Person who can do something about it.
Lastly, surround yourself with spiritually mature people who can hear your pain and doubt while believing that God is still working on a miracle. Don’t allow anyone to minimize what is happening inside of you by opting for breezy, cost-free cliches.
For example, they should be able to say, “I hear your pain and confusion about this situation. It’s heart-wrenching not to see any improvement in your condition. I will continue to pray that your miracle will come. What else do you need from me right now?”
We all sometimes struggle to believe that Jesus will come through for us. Remember the father in Mark 9:17-24? He came to Jesus hoping that He could heal his son, who was being tormented by an evil spirit. He said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
Jesus replied: “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately, the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
May we all pray together: We do believe in miracles! Help us overcome our unbelief!
*Dear reader, please know that I stand with you in believing in a miracle in your life. It would be an honor to pray with you. I’d love to hear from you.