Many would suggest that miracles don't happen. They would argue that there are coincidences, oddities, and illusions that simple-minded people can't explain so they attribute them to God. I, however, would argue that there are events that NO man can explain or perform, thus making them divine.
For example, I quit chewing my fingernails.
Don't laugh. Give me a chance here. Do any of you chew your fingernails? If you are a nail-biter and have been since being a toddler you can at least empathize with me on the initial problem.
I do not remember a time that I did not have my fingers in my mouth. From birth I was always either sucking my thumb or chewing my nails. Now, I WAS able to break the thumb-sucking habit. However, even as an adult when I suffer through a particularly traumatic event, I will still sometimes wake up with my thumb in my mouth.
Nail-biting is different. It isn't comforting, but rather a nervous habit. I don't know how many times in my life I've tried to stop. Even when I was able to really focus and pull this off for a month or two, the nails were thin and flimsy. I couldn't leave them alone! My constant picking at them took its toll and one would get a tear in it. And that was all she wrote. It gave me permission to chew it off...then one nail led to another.
As an adult, I spent a couple of years paying for acrylic nails. It was the only time in my life they looked decent. This, however, was not a long-term solution. And even when they were on, I picked at them and often chewed them until they came off or looked awful.
The worst chewing time came when I would drive. Honestly, I didn't even realize I was doing it. Driving time is one of the few times I can just focus on my thoughts with no distractions. It's almost like meditation. When I would "come to" on the road, my fingers were almost always in my mouth. I know, it's gross. I don't get it. It was totally unconscious.
Then...a couple of months ago I realized that I haven't been chewing my nails. As time has kept going by, they have gotten long enough that I often need to file them down. They aren't thin and flimsy; on the contrary, they are hard and strong. Amazingly they are quite pretty...even though I don't polish them and I type all day long just about every day.
So what happened? Why don't I catch myself chewing on them as I drive for hours from this meeting to that meeting? How am I able to keep myself from bending them and picking at them? When, how, and why would an ingrained habitual behavior that I've had for 40 years suddenly change without any effort from me?
The answer is simple...it wouldn't. It's a miracle.
Over the last couple of years, my life has changed dramatically. Some of the changes have been external, some have been mild, but many have been internal and huge. Could I have made these changes by myself? No. I've tried. For years. Through depression. With poor results.
Once I got far enough in my journey of faith to truly accept God's Truth of the Bible and the grace that is given through the gift of Jesus, I began to realize the power of the Holy Spirit. Wow. The gifts that I've experienced growing within me are truly GIFTS. (Galatians 5:22-23)
When changes take place within you without your effort, you are experiencing a miracle.
There is no greater proof of God than his miracles. They aren't always public spectacles like the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-43), the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15-18), the conversion of water into wine (John 2:1-11), or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Son (Luke 24). But when your complete outlook on the world changes so that you find yourself physically mourning your family, friends, and even strangers who have not allowed God into their lives...that is a miracle. I think I understand now why Jesus was described by Isaiah as a "Man of sorrows" 800 years before He was even born. (Isaiah 53:3-4)
The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Oh, the Spirit has lots of work left to do within me. The death of the nail-biting habit is just one little outcome under the self-control objective on a huge laundry list of goals in God's project called "Gina Tyler".
Yes, miracles happen. Daily. I pray that they are happening in you.
Amen, Sister! I'm still waiting for devine intervention to grow my nails! All in good time. I've heard that nails continue to grow even after death. So, if this is true...someday I WILL have long nails!
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