Hidden miracles
If I were to ask any of you to recall a miracle which God had performed in the past, I am reasonably sure that many of you would recount the parting of the Red Sea during Israel’s exodus; or the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace described in Daniel; or any of the epic narratives written about in the Old Testament – and these breath-taking events are most certainly evidence of God’s miracle-working power at work!
There are what I call ‘hidden’ miracles also to be found in Scripture, those happenings that we sometimes might overlook when we read the Bible. We find one such event in Daniel:
Dan 1:12 & 15 Prove your servants, I beseech you, for ten days and let us be given a vegetable diet and water to drink. And at the end of ten days it was seen that they were looking better and had taken on more flesh than all the youths who ate of the king’s rich dainties.
Many translations use the words “fatter in flesh” to describe how Daniel and his friends looked after the ten days. Eating only vegetables, grains and beans and drinking only water to me looks like a prescribed diet that surely should have had the opposite effect on them, letting them lose weight rather than gaining weight as a result. Is this not a miracle worked by God? He knew that they needed to have a good appearance to win the steward of the eunuchs over. This was a reward from Him because they had kept His commands, even when under pressure to give in to the pagan king’s instructions.
Another event that might be overlooked is found in John 6, probably because of the two famous miracles that preceded it. Jesus had just finished feeding the 5000 people, multiplying the five loaves and two small fish to do so, and had also walked on the stormy, wind-blown sea towards the terrified disciples’ boat:
John 6:21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Jesus translated that boat, supernaturally transported it miles across the sea! The Amplified explains that the disciples had slowly been making their way towards that land, the stormy waves obviously greatly hindering their progress. I am sure that Jesus saw that they were exhausted by this effort and spared them having to row any further!
Points to ponder:
Search for and celebrate the ‘hidden’ miracles in your life – that parking space that appeared when you desperately needed it; that mystery deposit in your bank account which was the exact amount you had to have at that stage; that perfect connection with just the right person at just the right time to further your business…. and give God all the glory!
Priscilla Koeglenberg
Feel free to email me at questions.powerhouse@gmail.com