God is in the Miracle Business!

Even now, I can look at the storm in the natural and feel my flesh start to freak out. I know better. I really do. The Lord has delivered me time and time again from things that looked like certain calamity. He has opened doors when there were no doors, sent help when I could not see help coming, and brought peace into situations that should have swallowed me whole.

But the flesh has a short memory.

One minute I am testifying about how God came through. The next minute I am staring at the waves like Peter and wondering if this one is going to take me under. That is why I need the Word. That is why I need the Spirit. That is why I need brothers and sisters who do more than throw a religious slogan from a distance. I need people who will come down into the valley and remind me, not as a theory, but as a living witness: God is in the miracle business.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

— Exodus 14:13, KJV

God uses miracles to show that He is God, and that He does in fact save His people. If it was not a miracle, then maybe I was never really in a bad storm. If everything could be explained away by timing, talent, money, or luck, then my flesh would be tempted to give chance the glory. But when the Red Sea is in front of you, Pharaoh is behind you, and there is no human exit strategy, then deliverance has a way of making one thing very plain: the Lord did this.

When Words of Encouragement Feel Hollow

A lot of Christians are going through a rough patch right now. Some are in financial pressure. Some are in family warfare. Some are battling sickness, grief, loneliness, temptation, or spiritual confusion. And sometimes words of encouragement can feel hollow when they come from people who are not willing to enter into the pain with you.

I am not saying scripture is hollow. Never. The Word of God is living and powerful. But there is a difference between a person using scripture as a holy bandage so they can hurry up and leave, and a person who brings the Word while sitting with you in the ashes.

Sometimes it feels like people are watching your vicious war from a safe vantage point up on their hill. God may have provided that hill for them, and I do not begrudge them peace. But from where you are standing, it can feel like they have binoculars and popcorn, watching the whole situation unfold while your guts are spilling onto the ground.

That may sound strong, but people in deep trials know exactly what I mean.

There is a kind of encouragement that never costs the encourager anything. It is quick, clean, and distant. It says, “I will pray for you,” but it never kneels. It says, “God’s got this,” but it does not weep with them that weep. It quotes a verse, but it never holds a hand. It gives a pep rally when what the wounded saint needs is presence.

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

— Romans 12:15, KJV

That verse is simple, but it is not shallow. Weeping with those who weep means I cannot stay emotionally protected all the time. I cannot keep every hurting person at arm’s length and still claim to walk in the compassion of Christ. Jesus did not minister from a safe distance. He touched lepers. He stopped for blind men. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb. He entered into the grief of people, even knowing He had resurrection power.

Come Down From the Hill

It is nice when a fellow Christian is willing to come down from the comfort of their hill, hold your hand, pray with you, worship with you, and share your pain. It is powerful when they can give a personal one-on-one testimony of how God delivered them. Then when they quote, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord,” it actually has meaning.

Why? Because they are not just throwing Bible words at your bleeding heart. They are saying, “I have been trapped too. I have seen the waters. I have heard the enemy behind me. I have felt my knees buckle. And I am telling you, the Lord made a way.”

That kind of testimony carries weight.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

— Revelation 12:11, KJV

Our testimony is not supposed to be a museum piece. It is not just something we dust off on Sunday when the microphone is passed around. Our testimony is a weapon. It is a cup of cold water. It is bread for the hungry. It is a reminder that the God who delivered yesterday is still the God who delivers today.

When I hear somebody testify from real experience, something in my spirit begins to rise. I may still be in the storm. The bills may still be due. The symptoms may still be there. The relationship may still look impossible. But the testimony reminds me that the current facts are not the final word. The Lord has a history of interrupting impossible situations.

Miracles Often Meet Us at the End of Ourselves

I wish I could say that I always walk in perfect faith before the miracle comes. I do not. Many times I am like the father in Mark 9 who cried out with tears, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” That is an honest prayer. It is not religious performance. It is a man bringing his divided heart to Jesus instead of pretending he is stronger than he is.

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

— Mark 9:24, KJV

There are moments when faith is not loud. Sometimes faith is simply refusing to let go of Jesus while tears are running down your face. Sometimes faith is getting up one more day. Sometimes faith is whispering scripture when your emotions are screaming something else. Sometimes faith is calling a brother or sister and saying, “I need you to pray with me because I am not doing well.”

God is not intimidated by that honesty. He already knows what is in us. He knows when we are tired. He knows when the storm has rattled our nervous system. He knows when we are smiling in public and falling apart in private. The miracle business is not for people who have mastered looking spiritual. It is for desperate people who look to a faithful God.

The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

— Psalm 34:17-18, KJV

That is not theory to me. I have cried out and found Him near. I have had moments when all I could do was groan, and somehow the peace of God came into the room. I have seen the Lord use people, timing, provision, dreams, conviction, repentance, and circumstances to bring deliverance. It did not always look like what I expected. It did not always come on my schedule. But I can say this: God has never been absent.

Encouragement That Has Skin On It

When a brother or sister is going through a trial, go and pay them a visit if you can. If distance prevents that, call them. Pray with them out loud. Worship with them. Send them scripture, yes, but do not use scripture as a substitute for love. Let the scripture come wrapped in compassion.

Ask questions and listen. Sometimes hurting people do not need you to fix everything. You are not the Messiah. Jesus is. But you can be a witness. You can be present. You can help carry the burden long enough for their spirit to breathe again.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

— Galatians 6:2, KJV

There is a holy ministry in simply refusing to abandon someone in affliction. Job’s friends actually did one thing right before they opened their mouths and started explaining everything wrong. They sat with him. For seven days they saw that his grief was very great. There is wisdom in that. Sometimes the first ministry is not answers. It is presence.

Then, when the Holy Ghost opens the door, share what God has done for you. Not in a way that competes with their pain. Not in a way that says, “My trial was worse than yours.” But in a way that says, “The Lord met me in the fire, and I believe He will meet you too.”

There is a big difference between empty optimism and biblical hope. Optimism says, “Everything will probably work out.” Biblical hope says, “Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with me.” Optimism depends on circumstances improving. Hope depends on the character of God.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

— Psalm 23:4, KJV

Notice David did not say he avoided the valley. He walked through it. But he did not walk through it alone.

Pure Religion Visits the Afflicted

James gives us a verse that should sober us up.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

— James 1:27, KJV

Pure religion is not merely having correct doctrine in a notebook. Correct doctrine matters. Truth matters. But James tells us that undefiled religion shows up in affliction. It visits. It goes where the pain is. It remembers the forgotten. It keeps itself unspotted from the world, but it does not use holiness as an excuse to avoid wounded people.

This challenges me. It makes me ask: Am I willing to be interrupted? Am I willing to be inconvenienced? Am I willing to let God use my testimony not just on a platform, but in a quiet room with one hurting person?

Sometimes the miracle God wants to do for someone else may involve my obedience. I am not the source. God is. But what if He wants me to be the phone call, the visit, the prayer, the meal, the scripture, the testimony, or the hand on the shoulder?

When we show up like that, we are not trying to be impressive. We are simply agreeing with the heart of the Father. Jesus went after the one. Jesus saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion. Jesus did not despise weakness. He healed, delivered, taught, fed, corrected, and restored.

Remember the God Who Delivered You

If you are in the storm right now, I want to remind you: this is not the first storm God has ever seen. Your situation may be new to you, but it is not new to Him. He has handled seas, lions, giants, furnaces, prisons, graves, devils, betrayals, famines, and impossible odds.

The same God who brought Israel through the Red Sea can bring you through what is in front of you. The same God who delivered Daniel from the lions can shut mouths around you. The same God who met the three Hebrew children in the fire can stand with you when the heat gets turned up. The same Jesus who spoke to the wind and waves can speak peace over your soul.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

— Hebrews 13:8, KJV

Do not let the enemy use the storm to erase your memory. Write down what God has done. Speak it out loud. Tell somebody. Rehearse the faithfulness of God until your spirit starts agreeing with heaven again.

And if you are on the hill right now, enjoying a season of peace, do not waste it on spectatorship. Look around for someone in the valley. Come down. Hold their hand. Pray with them. Share your testimony. Stay long enough for encouragement to come to their spirit. Do not run an empty pep rally. Bring the comfort wherewith you yourself have been comforted of God.

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

— 2 Corinthians 1:4, KJV

God is still in the miracle business. Sometimes the miracle is sudden deliverance. Sometimes the miracle is supernatural endurance. Sometimes the miracle is peace in the middle of the storm. Sometimes the miracle is the Body of Christ finally acting like the Body of Christ.

But make no mistake: the Lord saves His people.

Your Next Steps

1. Remember your testimonies. Write down three specific times God delivered you, provided for you, corrected you, or carried you through a storm. Keep them where you can read them when fear gets loud.
2. Go comfort someone else. Ask the Holy Ghost to show you one person who is hurting. Call them, visit them, pray with them, and share a real testimony of God’s faithfulness without turning it into a religious speech.
3. Stand on the Word in your storm. Choose one KJV promise, such as Exodus 14:13 or Psalm 34:17-18, and speak it in prayer every day until encouragement rises in your spirit.

Be sure to remind them, and remind yourself: God is in the miracle business.