Giving Thanks ~ Day Sixteen

When we think about the miracles of the Bible, we generally think about the really big things. Noah, Moses, Jonah, Gideon, and of course all the things that Jesus did. When we think about miracles being done today, we tend to look for the really big things. Radical cures from cancer, survivors found three days after an earthquake, or people that walk away from horrific car accidents virtually unscathed. What I wonder is why we tend to discount the small miracles. The ones done in us that we truly know the difference of who we once were and who we are now.

In Matthew 11, Jesus is warning the unrepetant towns saying, "For if the miracles performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Granted, He is talking about the things they witnessed Him doing, but I don't think there's a lot of difference.

My personal experience has taught me that if I am going to doubt Jesus' ability to do something, it really has nothing to do with His ability at all. It's all about whether or not I think He has the desire to based on the recipients (me) worthiness of said miracle. For example: Do I believe He can make my ds-DNA number return to normal? Absolutely. Do I think He will make it just happen? Not necessarily based on the fact that I take so many things regarding my health for granted and would likely need the same miracle again and again because I have resisted turning from my preferred ways. Of course this is where grace comes in because He can just do it if He wants to because truthfully, I'll never deserve anything He does on my behalf and God knows I can never earn it.

But my reality shows a different story. He has absolutely performed miracles in me. Yesterday I told the women I meet with in small group that I am now taking two rest days a week. Two, y'all. Two. For the girl who refused, lamented, and never took one, to be taking two days off from exercise is huge. That was not me. That was Jesus. Flat out, hands down, case closed. I didn't take rest days when my foot was in a boot....I worked around it. When I had surgery a few years ago, I was horrid to live with when I couldn't workout. HORRID.

Call me crazy, but I'd be willing to be that if we all sat down, we could come up with lists of miracles we have seen Jesus do in our lives and the lives of those we know. From sobriety to salvation, we have seen more than we acknowledge.

Today, I am thankful for the miracle of rest. And not just the ability to pause and take a break, but the fact that I look forward to it and even yearn for it now. And here's something really cool: my rest days are Thursday and Sunday. And I am not working out this Thursday and taking a different day just because I'm going to eat pumpkin pie. As a former compulsive, over-exerciser, to not workout on a day known for indulgence, that right there is an entirely different miracle.

How many miracles have we seen Jesus perform that we haven't given Him credit for? Instead of letting them remain unspoken, let's be like the crowd of disciples in Luke 19 and begin joyfully praising God in loud voices for all the miracles we have seen.