The Bible is full of miracles. As we read, we see God’s divine intervention and miraculous hand at work over and over, from the parting of the sea in the Old Testament to the many miracles Jesus performed while He walked the earth. There is one consistent factor in every single one: first, there was a need.
Not only is there always a need, but sometimes, the person in need of a miracle has already witnessed God’s miraculous hand before, only to be suddenly faced with another impossible circumstance, even greater than the first. These are the kinds of challenges that leave someone asking, “God, why would You bring me this far to leave me?” Let’s look at a few examples.
When enslaved in Egypt, the Israelites witnessed God send a series of ten plagues upon the Egyptians through Moses before Pharaoh finally set them free. But even after seeing miracle upon miracle, they were afraid God had only led them out of captivity to die when they found themselves at a dead end at the Red Sea, with their enemies trailing behind them (Exodus 7–14).
When Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter, he witnessed Jesus heal someone else along the way. But the woman who stopped Jesus seemed to be an untimely interruption to the journey toward his answered prayer, and his daughter died before they got back to her (Mark 5:21–43).
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus, so they were no strangers to the fact that He had the power to heal when Lazarus was sick. Jesus told His disciples, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this” (John 11:4). Still, He stayed where He was for two more days before beginning His journey. By the time He arrived, Lazarus had already been dead for four days.
If we only read the first part of these stories, we might call God a liar, unreliable, or someone who is rather cruel, leading people along with false hope. You may feel that way personally about God right now, too. Maybe you’ve seen Him come through before, but where you are now has you questioning His goodness. Does He really care? Did He bring you this far just to abandon you?
Thankfully, the stories above don’t end where I left off. And neither does yours!
God did not forget the Israelites. He led them to a “dead end” so that His power would be on display once again, making a way for them by parting the Red Sea while also ending their enemy’s chase by collapsing that same sea on the entire army trailing behind them.
God did not forget Jairus. Not only did Jesus care for the woman who interrupted Him on His journey, but He also brought Jairus’s daughter back to life.
And Jesus was not a liar when He said that Lazarus’s sickness would not end in death. The stone was rolled back, and at the command of Jesus, Lazarus came back to life.
Maybe what you’re facing looks impossible, or even dead and far from ever coming back to life. Friend, may I remind you today that we have the opportunity to experience the greatest miracles in our greatest time of need.
Nothing surprises God. He can use all things for good when we surrender our lives to Him, even when things don’t look at all like we think they should. If you’re discouraged by how your story is going today, may the words of Jesus to Mary and Martha renew your hope and strength:
“Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” John 11:40b
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