He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth one looks like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25, NIV)
In the way that we assess miracles, it would most certainly be a miracle if I won the U.S. Open. On the basis of age alone, I would set a record. And then there is the matter of the state of my game…
It would not so much, however, be a miracle for me to make a hole-in-one. I’ve had a couple already, and I’ve had tee shots stop within a foot twice this summer. It would be unusual (and exciting!), but I’d probably hesitate to call it a “miracle.” That’s only speaking for me, though. You might call a hole-in-one for you a miracle every time.
A buddy once holed out for eagle on a short par-5 from about 75 yards. Not so much a miracle—except that he landed the shot short in a ditch, where it hit a granite rock, bounded high into the air, came down near the hole, and rolled in. Now that’s a miracle!
The problem with miracles is often that we place so many conditions on them. You see, sometimes, we consider miracles by the direness of the circumstances. A friend healed of cancer overnight? Miracle. A family about to lose their house receiving an anonymous envelope containing the very amount they need to pay the rent? Miracle. An 18-wheeler skidding on the road and missing your front end by mere inches? Miracle.
We paint these pictures of amazing occurrences in our minds, with size and result plugged into the equation. The ones that save lives, the ones that rescue people from critical concerns, the ones where the coincidence is just too astronomical: these we call “miracles.”
The friends of Daniel definitely experienced a miracle. They were rescued from a fire made “seven times hotter than usual.” God showed up among them and they walked from the flames entirely unscathed. Bona fide miracle. But they also had entered the fire with these words echoing in their king’s ears: “Even if God does not rescue us from the furnace, we know he is able, and we know we are to worship him alone.” Interestingly, it was their overseer who could have confirmed this, their overseer who had seen the “lesser miracle” when these young men had eaten a surprising diet and wound up healthier than the rest.
Sometimes we are afraid to ask God for a miracle because we think our prayer looks silly. Would God intervene in a situation amounting to such small beans? He would. And he does. Every day. Will you pray often enough, will you believe firmly enough, to witness such miracles happen? Beginning today, I hope so. The only possible consequence is blessing.
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Jeff Hopper
September 12, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.