INTRODUCTION:
Miracles are strange occurrences. Many people no longer believe that such things happen. Some people believe that miracles use to happen but do not now because there is no need for them since the Bible has been completed or because of all the progress in science and technology. Some believe that they have never happened and that what otherwise might be called a miracle is just something that happened that we cannot yet explain. If your belief system fits in any of these three, I ask that you read the following closely and examine the ideas presented backed up by Scripture.
What is a miracle? It has been defined as “an event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature.” It has also been defined as “an event or effect that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is hence thought to be due to supernatural causes, especially to an act of God.” My personal definition is ‘an act of God’s power whereby the spiritual supersedes the natural.’
Acts 2:22 says, “Men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know-.” In this passage, the Apostle Peter mentions miracles, wonder, and signs. Before we proceed with miracles, let’s look at wonders and signs briefly.
Wonders- unexplained miraculous dealings. It has been defined “as a cause of astonishment or surprise; something far beyond anything previously known.” In other words, something that causes us to ‘wonder.’
Signs are supernatural activities done to reveal some area of God’s purpose, they give direction or point the way to something else.
We notice that often miracles, signs, and wonders are referred to in the same passage; or that they are closely related in the handiwork of God.
With these things in mind, let us proceed to examine numerous passages of Scripture that show how and under what circumstances miracles occur. Ask yourself the following questions, who did the miracle? Why was the miracle done? What were the responsibilities of the people involved in the miracle? Can this be repeated today?
MIRACLE OF CREATION
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” For those of us who believe that the Bible was given by divine inspiration (2 Tim.3:16-17) this verse alone is sufficient to determine who created the universe. However, we will examine many others. John 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (or overcome) it.” Furthermore, Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Hebrews 1:3 says that He is “…upholding all things by the word of His power…” God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4). From these passages it becomes clear to me that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe!
He created the earth out of nothing. That is, no minerals or anything else existed until He created them and then with them made everything else. He is a miracle worker!
Ten times in Genesis 1 the Bible records that “God said” something. Each time He spoke different things sprang into existence. He is a miracle worker!
As vast as the universe is, He spoke it into existence! He conceived the idea of creating it, and mankind, then spoke and it became! He created natural laws by which the creation operates (Job 38:8-11), but being God, He can when He chooses, supersede those laws with something greater. For example, the law of gravity allows us to stay on earth. But Elijah and Jesus both overcome the law of gravity when they were taken to heaven. Jesus & Peter by walking on the water overcame the law of gravity. During those times when miracles happened, God merely overcame a natural law with a supernatural touch, word, thought, or action. He is a miracle worker!
In Hebrews 3:3-4 the Bible says, “For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.” As magnificent as the universe is, the Creator, our God, is greater! It is big, beautiful, majestic, and powerful and its’ greatness has not yet been comprehended by mankind; but He is greater!
In fact, the universe is so great (and the fact that you and I were not there when it was created) we take it by faith according to what the Word of God says, that God indeed did create it this way. Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” He is a miracle worker!
God is so great that He has written a message to all of mankind in His creation. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” As we discover more and more about the creation of the universe it becomes obvious how little we really know about it. From time to time, things happen in the heavens that astonish us, and the only thing that we can say is that it comes from God. Our great telescopes reveal distant planets, stars, and supernovas and we rejoice at their beauty while proclaiming, “Our God did that!” He is a miracle worker!
And somewhere out there, there is a place called Heaven which has been created by God for His own; those who have made Jesus the Lord of their life. Perhaps Psalms 48:1-2 gives us a hint about it when it says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” He is a miracle worker!
Why did God do the miracles involved in creating the universe? He wanted a place for mankind to dwell. He wanted relationships and fellowship with humanity. He wanted us to rule and reign with Him in His Kingdom (Ps.110:2, Rom.5:17). What is our responsibility in creating this universe? None. He did it Himself. Our responsibility is caring for it (Gen.3:15-17), and working with Him (2 Cor.6:1).
MIRACLES IN EGYPT
MOSES
Joseph’s descendants who were in Egypt began to multiply so much that the King of Egypt put out a decree that all male children should be killed but the female babies should be preserved (Ex.1:22). A man of the house of Levi took as a wife a daughter of Levi. They had a baby boy that they refused to kill. They made a special ark of bulrushes and put him in it near the bank. His sister stood guard nearby. Pharaoh’s daughter was bathing in the river and saw the baby and took him to her house. She named him Moses since she drew him out of the water. Through a turn of events, the baby’s mother became a nurse to the baby.
Moses was well taught in the wisdom of Egypt (Acts 7:20-22). When he was about forty years old (Acts 7:23) he saw an Egyptian kill a Hebrew. When he thought that no one was watching he killed the Egyptian. The next day as he was trying to break up another fight it was revealed that someone had seen him kill the Egyptian (Ex.2:13-15). Moses fled to the land of Midian and lived with the priest Jethro.
He married Jethro’s daughter Zipporah. One day as he was keeping Jethro’s sheep on the backside of the desert (Ex.3:1-2) the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the middle of a bush. Though the bush was burning it was not burned up. There was a conversation between the Angel of the Lord and Moses about his call to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. Moses raised many excuses why he could not do it. As a result, God gave him three signs that he could perform verifying that God had sent him. He could throw his rod down and it would become a snake, then turn back into a rod when he picked it up (Ex.4:2-4). He could put his hand in his bosom and it would become leprous, when he put it in again and took it out it was normal (Ex.4:6-7). He took water from the river and poured it out and it would become blood (Ex.4:9). In addition to all of this, God sent Moses’ brother Aaron to be his spokesman since Moses said he could not speak well (Ex.4:14-16) even though Stephen said that Moses was mighty in word as well as deeds (Acts 7:22).
Why was God doing all these miraculous things? He was preparing a man to be His servant to lead His people out of bondage! The Israelites while in Egypt served under great bondage and had been calling out to God for deliverance (Ex.2:23-25). Many centuries earlier God had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that included them. He was in process of answering their cries. What was Moses’ responsibility? He had to believe God and respond as required. He had many excuses as to why he could not do what God required. But eventually, he got to the place of moving in faith (Heb.11:23-31).
Will God do these types of miracles for us? Yes, if and when they are needed; and if we will respond in faith.
Plague Miracles
God told Moses that he was to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out to a land that He would show him. He told Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go initially (Ex.5-6). He also said that one of the reasons Pharaoh would not let them go was so that He could show His power to the Egyptians by great judgments (Ex.7:4-5).
At their initial encounter with Pharaoh Aaron threw his rod down and it became a serpent, the magicians did likewise and theirs’ also became serpents. But Aaron’s serpent swallowed up theirs (Ex.7:10-13).
First Plague – Water becomes blood
God told Moses to take the rod and stand by the river’s bank and tell Pharaoh that God would turn the water to blood all across Egypt if he did not let the Israelites go. He told Moses that Pharaoh would not listen but he was to do it anyway. Moses and Aaron obeyed as instructed by God and smote the waters. The water became blood, the fish died and the river stank. The magicians did likewise (Ex. 7:14-25). Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Second Plague – Frogs
God told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let His people go and if he did not let them go, frogs would come up from the river in abundance. He said frogs would be in everything, in their houses, in the stoves, and the bread, and on the people. Aaron stretched out the rod and frogs began to come onto the land. The magicians did likewise and frogs were everywhere (Ex. 8:1-7). When this happened, Pharaoh showed the first sign of allowing the Israelites to go by asking Moses to entreat the Lord and remove the frogs (Ex.8:8). Moses and Aaron cried out to God to remove the frogs and He did. The frogs died and the people piled them up in great piles. But Pharaoh changed his mind and hardened his heart and would not let them go (Ex.8:16).
Third Plague – Lice
God told Moses to strike the dust and it would become lice. Aaron struck the ground and the dust became lice. The magicians followed suit but their magic no longer worked. They told Pharaoh that this was the finger of God but he still hardened his heart and would not let the Israelites leave Egypt (Ex.8:16-19).
Fourth Plague – Flies
The Lord spoke to Moses and told him to stand by the river on the next morning and when Pharaoh came out to tell him to let His people go He would send swarms of flies all over the land. Flies would be on the ground, in houses, and everywhere. God said to tell him flies would be everywhere but in Goshen as a sign that God was making a difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians. When this happened, Pharaoh said he would let the Israelites go sacrifice to their God. However, he had two conditions, they must first pray and ask that the flies be removed and they could not go very far away. Moses prayed and the flies left but Pharaoh changed his mind and again would not let them go (Ex. 8:20-32).
Fifth Plague – Livestock stricken
God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that if he did not let the Israelites go all the livestock in Egypt – except that which belonged to the Israelites – would be smitten and die. When Pharaoh saw that it happened this way he still hardened his heart and would not let the Israelites leave (Ex. 9:1-7).
Sixth Plague – Boils
God told Moses to take ashes from the furnaces and throw them into the air. As they fell to the ground boils began to break out on man and beast all through Egypt, except the Israelites. But Pharaoh continued to harden his heart (Ex.9:8-12).
Seventh Plague – Hail
God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message that he had been raised up that God might show His power to him and that God’s name would be exalted (Ex.9:16). God said that the next day a great hail storm would come and strike all vegetation, animals, and people who were outside the buildings. All those who gathered things and animals inside would be protected but those things outside would be destroyed. This happened everywhere in Egypt except in Goshen where the Israelites were (Ex.9:26). Along with the great hail, thunder, and lightning occurred. When Pharaoh saw this he told Moses that he had sinned and was wicked. He asked Moses to entreat the Lord that the plague be removed. Moses assured him that he would but knew that Pharaoh would not let them go. Pharaoh once again hardened his heart and refused to let them leave Egypt (Ex.9:13-35).
Eighth Plague – Locusts
Again God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message that unless the Israelites were allowed to leave a great swarm of locusts would invade the land. The locusts would be worse than any that had previously been seen. Moses told Pharaoh the locust would be so numerous the ground would be black with them. They would eat up all vegetation left from the hail. When this happened, once again, Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites leave but his heart was hardened and he did not (Ex. 10:1-20).
Ninth Plague – Darkness
This time Moses did not tell Pharaoh what was about to happen. God told Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven and extreme darkness would be felt. It was so dark for three days that the Egyptians stayed in their houses. But the Israelites had light in their homes! Again Pharaoh said they could go but his heart was hardened and he refused to do so. (Ex.10:21-29).
Tenth Plague – Death of the First Born
God told Moses that He would bring one more plague on Egypt and that Pharaoh would let them go. He instructed Moses to tell the people that every man and woman was to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. God gave them favor with the Egyptians and they gave these things to them willingly because Moses was well-liked by Pharaoh’s servants and the ordinary people of Egypt (Ex. 11:2-3). When Moses went to Pharaoh and told him about the plague coming on every firstborn child and the firstborn of all the animals in Egypt – except the Israelites – and how the Egyptians would come to the Israelites and bow down and demand they leave Egypt; Pharaoh was very angry and his heart was hardened again (Ex.11:1-10). God was doing this to provide an opportunity for His mighty power to be revealed.
The Feast of Passover was instituted because of what was about to happen. God instructed the Israelites through Moses to take a lamb, without blemish, a male of the first year, and kill it at twilight. They were to put some of the blood on the doorposts and the lintel of their houses. They were to eat the lamb, after roasting it, inside their houses with their sandals on. God said that He would send His angel and would strike all the firstborn children and animals except those houses where the blood was applied. He said He would pass over them because of the blood. They were instructed to keep this day as a feast and memorial each year for seven days (Ex.12:1-28). The Israelites did as instructed and when the death angel passed through the land of Egypt Pharaoh urged the Israelites to leave with their children, animals, and all their possessions (Ex.12:29-39). This time he did not change his mind immediately. The Israelites had been in Egypt for four hundred thirty years (Ex.12:40-41).
You will notice in these plague miracles that God used natural things but intensified their normal way of occurring. For example water, frogs, lice, flies, sick livestock, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. He did supernatural work with each of them. Moses’ responsibility, as related to these miracles, was to simply obey what God said. Neither he nor Aaron did these things but obeyed what God told them to do and then God did the miracle.
Can these things happen again in our day? Let’s look at the book of Revelation and see some things that are prophesied about the last days.
- Scarcity of food – Rev.6:5
- Darkness – Rev.6:12
- Planets falling – Rev.6:13
- Vegetation struck – Rev.8:7
- Seas struck – Rev.8:8
- Waters struck – Rev.8:10-11
- Sun, moon and stars – Rev.8:12-13
- Locusts – Rev.9:2
- Sores – Rev.16:2
- Seas turn to blood – Rev. 16:3
- Other waters turn to blood – Rev.16:4-7
- Sun scorches people – Rev.16:8-9
- Darkness and pain – Rev.16:10-11
- Euphrates dried up – Rev.16:12
- Earth shaken – Rev.16:18-21
God can use natural things like these to reveal Himself by using them in a natural or supernatural way to perform His will. When He supersedes the normal way they are to operate we call that a miracle!
RED SEA
God told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that after the Israelites left Egypt the Egyptian army would pursue them (Ex. 14:3-4). God’s purpose in doing this was that the Egyptians would know that He was Lord!
As the Egyptian army chased after the Israelites they became very fearful and cried out to the Lord, and at the same time accused Moses of bringing them out to die in the wilderness (Ex.14:10-12). They had the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s army behind them. In the natural, it did look hopeless. But God specializes in hopeless-looking situations!
Moses told them “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall not see again any more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Ex.14:13-14). How did this happen? “And the Angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night” (Ex. 14:19-20).
God told Moses to stretch his hand out over the sea and divide it. As he did so, the Lord caused a strong east wind to blow that night that divided the sea and the Israelites walked across on dry ground (Ex. 14:21-22). The next morning God troubled the Egyptians as they pursued the Israelites into the sea. God took off their chariot wheels (Ex.14-23-25). God told Moses to stretch out his hand again over the sea so that the waters would return to normal. As he did the water covered the Egyptian army in the midst of the sea. As a result of this miracle, “Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and His servant Moses” (Ex.14:31).
MIRACLES IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years after crossing through the Red Sea. Some of the time they were obedient to God and some of the time they disobeyed Him. But God time and again worked miracles in their midst in spite of their disobedience. He provided quail, manna, and water for them in the desert. He did not let their clothes wear out for forty years! He supernaturally guided them with a pillar of fire or a cloud during their time in the wilderness. As they neared the time to go into the Promised Land, God told Moses to anoint Joshua as his replacement (Deut.34:9). Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died in the land of Moab. God buried him but no one knows where. Scripture says his eyes were not dimmed nor his strength diminished. The Bible further says, “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel” (Deut.34:10-12).
NEW LEADER
The Lord spoke to Joshua that Moses was dead. God told him that as He had been with Moses He would be him. Every place the sole of his foot touched had been given to him (Jos.1:2-5). God further said that it would be necessary for Joshua to be strong, and courageous while observing all the laws as instructed by Moses. He said Joshua was to meditate in the law day and night to be able to do what was written in it (Jos.1:8). He was also to guard against fear and discouragement (Jos.1:9).
Jordan River
God instructed Joshua to have the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant step into the Jordan River. As they did so, even though the Jordan was flooded, the water was stopped north of where they were and the people passed through on dry ground (Jos.3:11-17).
Destruction of Jericho
God told Joshua that He had given the city of Jericho to them. They were instructed by God to put armed soldiers in front, then the Ark of the Covenant, and then a rear guard and to march around the city of Jericho once each day for six days. As they marched they were told to not speak a word but just have the priests who blew the trumpets playing as they marched. On the seventh day, they marched around the city six times as they previously had done; but they then marched a seventh time that day. As they did so, they were instructed to “shout, for the Lord has given you the city!” (Jos.6:1-16). They had been previously told if they followed God’s commands the walls of the city would fall down (Jos.6:5). Not fall over, but go down into the ground. When the walls fell down they marched into the city and took all the silver, gold, and precious things into the treasury of Israel (Jos.6:20). They were instructed to not take certain other things (Jos.6:18).
Ai
But Achan disobeyed and took some of the accursed items. Later when a limited army went out against Ai they were defeated. The people were discouraged. Joshua did a search tribe by tribe until Achan was found. He confessed what he had done and the people of Israel stoned him after they had burned him with fire (Jos.7:25-26). Joshua divided the army and drew the people of Ai out and soundly defeated them (Jos.8). Joshua then reminded the people of the Covenant that had been given by God through Moses. He read the law to them both a blessing and cursing (Jos.8:34-35).
Treaty with the Gibeonites
If we are to see God use us as He wants to, we must obey His word and seek His face consistently. “But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy” (Jos.9:2-3).
They told Joshua they had come from a far country and were seeking peace with Israel. The leadership of Israel did not seek God about this and were deceived (Jos.9:14). Israel made a covenant with Gibeon to let them live and not do any harm to them. Three days later they discovered that Gibeon was their neighbor and not from a far country. When they passed by them they made the Gibeonites drawers of water and hewers of wood.
The lesson to be learned from all this is: even though we have a covenant with God it is still possible to be deceived by those around us (including the devil through people) if we do not consistently seek God through His Word and His Spirit!
The Sun stands still
The covenant Israel made with the Gibeonites would draw them into war. Five kings united together to fight against Gibeon because of their covenant with Israel. The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua to come to help them, which they were obligated to do because of the covenant. The Lord told Joshua “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand, not a man of them shall stand before you” (Josh.10:8). Two dramatic things happened in addition to what the army of Israel did: God cast great hailstones on the enemy armies – more died from the hail than were killed by Israel – Joshua prayed that God would have the sun stand still until all the enemies were killed, which He did. “Sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day” (Jos. 10:13).
Gideon
Many years later, because of Israel’s disobedience, Midian ruled over them (Judg.6:1). There was a man named Gideon who was threshing wheat in a winepress for fear of the Midianites. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor” (Judg.6:12). To which Gideon replied, “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judg.6:13).
God told Gideon that he would defeat the Midianites. Gideon expresses his doubts by saying that his family is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh and that he was the least in his father’s house. The Lord responded by saying, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man” (Judg.6:16). It is not our earthly positions or possessions that gain the victory but our relationship & fellowship with the Lord that matter most!
God instructed Gideon to cut down the altar of Baal and with the wood from it to build an altar to God and offer a sacrifice on it. “But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night” (Judg.6:27).
After this occurred, the Spirit of God came upon Gibeon and he blew a trumpet and the peoples of the land gathered to him. He put a fleece out before the Lord to gain assurance of God’s directions (Judg.6:36-40). Gideon had 32,000 soldiers with him to fight against the Midianites. The Lord said it was too many because when they won they would think it was because they were so great. So He instructed Gideon to send home anyone who was fearful and 22,000 left. He gave one more instruction that everyone was to drink water. Those who drank by bringing the water up to their mouth while watching were 300. The rest were sent home (Judg.7:2-8).
Gideon divided his army into three companies and placed them in strategic locations. At the appropriate time, they were to follow his command of letting their light shine while blowing their trumpets and saying ‘the sword of the Lord and Gideon.’ This confused the Midianites so much that they started killing each other (Judg.7:19-22). Again, while natural means were used, this is still miraculous because God brought victory by such a small number of soldiers who simply obeyed His directions.
David and Goliath
David was a shepherd boy whose older brothers were fighting in King Saul’s army. One day his father, Jesse, sends David with food for his brothers. While he was there the giant Goliath came out challenging the army of Saul. The army was afraid of Goliath but David was not. Although ridiculed by his brothers, David offered to go fight the giant (1 Sam.17:32). They tried putting Saul’s armor on David but it did not fit. David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam.17:37). As he went out he picked up five stones from the brook. Goliath taunted David by saying, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field” (1 Sam 17:44). David replied, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you” (1 Sam.17:45-46). He continued, “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands” (1 Sam.17:47). As he drew near he took one of the stones and flung it at Goliath with his slingshot and hit him in the forehead and Goliath fell face to the ground. David ran to him and used Goliath’s sword to cut off his head. The Philistines fled and Israel won the battle!
The question has often been asked, “Does God use natural means to do the miraculous? And if so, how can it be said to be a miracle from God?” It isn’t so much whether natural things are used or not, the real power and ability are God at work in the situation. When He goes above and beyond whatever is in the natural means used, it is miraculous. David flung the stone; God guided it, and no doubt empowered it sufficiently to kill Goliath.
God can do supernatural things merely of His own will without the intervention of mankind. He is sovereign, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immutable, etc. But sometimes He chooses to use humans to work with Him in His Kingdom. When He does, it transcends our comprehension time and time again!
MIRACLES THROUGH THE PROPHETS
As we read the writings of the Old Testament prophets we see many supernatural works of power. We will only examine a few miracles of two of them; Elijah and Elisha.
Elijah
He had been staying near the Brook Cherith, as the Lord had commanded (1 Kings 17:3, 6) and the Lord had commanded the ravens to bring him bread and meat in the mornings and evenings; which are outside the norm and we would call this miraculous. But after a while, the brook dried up. God then sent him to Zarephath to be cared for by a widow who was poverty-stricken. Elijah told her, as she was gathering some sticks to make a fire, to bring him a cup of water and a small cake of bread. She told the prophet that she was making the last meal for her son and herself. Elijah told her to do this for him first and then prophesied to her that, “the bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth” (1 Kings 17:14). And it came to pass just as he said.
Raising the dead
Sometime later the widow’s son died. Elijah took the son and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to God to raise him up. After stretching himself on the boy three times, he prayed again, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him” (1 Kings 17:11). He was restored to life!
Mount Carmel
In the third year of the drought, God told Elijah to go to King Ahad and it would rain. After gathering the people of Israel and the false prophets to Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:20) Elijah challenged the false prophets to prepare a sacrifice and the God who answered by fire would be recognized as God (1 Kings 18:24). After the false prophets had done their incantations etc. until evening with no results (verse 29) Elijah gathered the people to him, rebuilt the altar, put wood on it and soaked it with water three times (verse 34) until it filled the trenches around it. He then prayed a short prayer and the fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood and stones, and the water in the trenches. The people shouted, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
Elijah outruns the chariot of Ahab
Elijah told King Ahab to eat and drink for there was a sound of abundance of rain. He bowed to pray and told his servant to go look at the clouds. Nothing looked like rain. He told him to do it seven times. On the seventh time, the servant said, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea” (1 Kings 18:44) Elijah tells King Ahab it is time to go. Soon the wind and heavy rain descended. And the Bible says, “Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:46). Even outrunning a team of horses can be supernatural!
Depressed Prophet
Often, after a great victory, people used of God experience a letdown. They may be lonely, tired, hungry, sleep deprived, and physically exhausted. This was Elijah’s condition after the encounter with the 850 prophets at Mt. Carmel. Queen Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah and he ran for his life. He prayed to die (1 Kings 19:4). God sent an angel to minister to him two times with food and encouragement to sleep and rest for the upcoming ministry (1 Kings 19:5-8).
Like many others since, Elijah felt lonely as if he were the only one who was truly serving God. God responded that He had 7000 more who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Elijah also needed his perspective changed from the great external acts of power to see that sometimes the inward voice is what one needs. God gave him a lesson about this. He told Elijah to go stand on the mountain. As he did, the Lord passed by and a strong wind broke some rocks into pieces, then an earthquake occurred, and then a fire, but God was not in any of these, afterward, a still small voice spoke to Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13). When God spoke, He commissioned Elijah to anoint Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as a prophet in his place.
Elisha
Raising the dead
Elisha would often visit Shunem and he would stop to eat with a family there. The woman of the house was a great woman of character. She persuaded her husband to fix a room for the prophet. On a visit there he asked her what he could do for her and she said nothing. His servant, Gehazi, told Elisha that she had no son. Elisha sent word to her that within a year she would have a son, which she did. Several years later that son had a heat stroke while in the field with his father and died. She laid him on Elisha’s bed and made her way to Elisha who at the time was at another location. When Elisha saw her coming he sent his servant to ask if she, her husband, and her son, were well. She answered, “It is well.” When she came to Elisha she grabbed him by the feet and the servant went to push her away but Elisha said, “Let her alone, for her soul is in deep distress and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me” (2 Kings 4:27). Elisha sent his servant with his staff with the instructions to lay it on the boy. He did and nothing happened. Elisha went with her back to where the boy was. He and the Shunammite woman went into the room and Elisha prayed to the Lord. He stretched himself on her son and the boy’s body became warm. He did it again and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. He was restored to life (2 Kings 4:8-37).
Healing Leprosy
Naaman was the commander of the army for the king of Syria. He was a respected soldier but he was a leper. One of the captives taken on a raid into Israel was his wife’s servant. She told her master that if Naaman were in Samaria where the prophet of God was, he would be healed. This information was passed on to the king of Syria who in turn wrote a letter to the king of Israel which he sent with Naaman to him. The king of Israel was angry and tore his clothes because he thought the king of Syria was looking for a way to attack him. When Elisha heard the king had torn his clothes he asked that they send Naaman to him, which the king did.
When Naaman arrived Elisha sent a servant to tell him to go wash seven times in the Jordan River and his flesh would be healed. Naaman because furious and said, “I said to myself, he will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy” (2 Kings 5:11). Naaman’s servant convinced him to do as Elisha said, when he had dipped seven times his flesh was restored “like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:14).
Seeing into the spirit realm
As the king of Syria made attempts to attack Israel, Elisha would send word to the king of Israel to avoid those places and save Israel from ambushes on several occasions. The king of Syria thought he had a traitor in his midst. Someone told him that it was because the prophet Elisha was telling these things to the king of Israel. The king of Syria sent an army to Dothan to get Elisha. When Elisha’s servant awoke the following morning he saw the Syrian army surrounding them. He ran into Elisha’s tent proclaiming, “Alas, my master! What shall we do? And Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha’” (2 Kings 6:15-17).
Often things are not as they appear to be! Many times things are going on in the invisible, spirit realm that is affecting what we see. Sometimes we need the same thing to happen to us as happened to Elisha’s servant – we need our eyes opened to see what God is doing!
MIRACLES IN JESUS’ MINISTRY
Jesus was both the Son of God and the Son of man, and Jesus used both of these phrases to describe some aspects of His life and ministry. He was God manifest in the flesh for the purpose of reconciling man back to God (2 Cor.5:19).
Jesus’ ministry consisted of four basic parts – preaching, teaching, healing, and delivering people from demons (Matt.4:23-24). All of these were used to advance His Kingdom on earth and lead people out of Satan’s dominion into service to God.
The ministry that Jesus did on earth for three and one-half years was accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit. After His water baptism, He was filled with the Spirit (Luke 4:1). He was tempted by the devil but overcome three temptations by declaring the Word of God (Luke 4:2-13). Afterward, He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14). He ministered as a man full of the Spirit. He did not do the miracles as God but as a man full of the Spirit.
We will look at some of His miracles as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.
Jesus cleanses a leper
After giving the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5-7) Jesus returned down the mountain and was met by a leper who said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Matt.8:2). Jesus immediately revealed His willingness by saying, “I am willing; be cleansed” (Matt.8:3). And the leper was cleansed.
This is the first question that for many of us needs to be answered. Is He willing to heal us or meet our needs? Too often we don’t know the promises of Scripture well enough to know the answer to those questions. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He is willing to meet us at the point of our need.
Jesus heals a Centurion’s servant
A Roman centurion – who was captain of over a hundred men – came pleading with Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. Jesus offered to come and heal him but the centurion said that all Jesus would need to do would be to speak the word and the servant would be healed. The centurion recognized Jesus as a man of authority and he knew that when a person of authority speaks the order is carried out. Jesus commended the centurion on his great faith. Jesus said, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you” (Matt.8:13). His servant was healed the same hour.
Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law
Jesus came into Peter’s house and discovered his wife’s mother was sick with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left immediately and she arose and served them (Matt.8:14-15).
Jesus delivered and healed the demonized
They brought many who were demonized – under the influence of demons, some greater than others – and He cast out the spirits by speaking a word and healed all who were sick on that occasion (Matt.8:16). He then proceeds to explain to them the prophetic and Biblical basis for healing by quoting Isaiah 53 where he said, “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matt.8:17).
Jesus delivers two demonized men
Jesus was met by two demonized men who had their homes among the tombs. These men were extremely fierce to the point that no one would have anything to do with them. They recognized (or the demons on the inside of them) who Jesus was. They asked Jesus if He was going to cast them out to allow them to go into the pigs nearby. He said, “Go.” The pigs ran down the hill into the water and drowned. The keepers of the pigs and those in the nearby city came to Jesus and asked Him to leave (Matt.8:28-34). This seems to be a case where profits were put ahead of the blessings of God! Hogs instead of the Son of God!
Jesus forgives and heals a paralytic
Some people in Jesus’ hometown brought a paralytic man to him on a cot. When Jesus saw their faith He said, “Son, be of good cheer: your sins are forgiven you.” The religious crowd heard this and said that Jesus was blaspheming. Jesus then said, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins – then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. Now when the multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who has given such power to men” (Matt.9:1-8).
Jesus restores a girl to life and heals a woman of a blood condition
A ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus and said that his daughter had just died, but if Jesus would come and lay His hand on her, he believed, that she would live. In the process of going with the man to his house, a woman with a blood condition for twelve years came and touched the helm of his garment. Jesus turned to her and said, “Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has made you well” (Matt.9:22). He proceeds on to the ruler’s house and finds a great number of people mourning. He said, “Make room for the girl is not dead, but sleeping” (Matt.9:24). He was ridiculed by the crowd. He put them out and took the girl by the hand and she arose!
Jesus heals two blind men
Two blind men followed Jesus one day crying out for mercy. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They answered, “Yes, Lord.” Jesus touched their eyes saying, “According to your faith let it be to you” (Matt.9:27-31). They were healed immediately.
Jesus heals a deaf man
A deaf man was brought to Jesus who was also demonized. When Jesus cast the demon spirit out the man spoke. The crowd was astonished.
Have you noticed that in some of these incidences, faith was exercised on the part of the afflicted person and sometimes faith was exercised on the part of those nearby? At other times, there is no mention of active faith at all. The lesson to be learned from this is – don’t put God in a box, He is bigger than all our theological boxes!
Jesus heals a man with a withered hand
In the crowd of people surrounding Jesus one Sabbath day was a man with a withered hand. They asked Him if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. After answering in the affirmative Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched out his hand and it was made normal like the other one (Matt.12:9-14).
Jesus heals a deaf, blind, and demonized man
This man was brought to Jesus one day and Jesus healed him so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. The Pharisees in the crowd said that Jesus was also able to do this because He was casting out demons through Beelzebub. Jesus proceeded to teach them the absurdity of such thinking (Matt.12:22-30).
By the way, such thinking still persists in some areas of the church world. The first position in this type of theology is that there is no such thing as casting out a demon. It is usually referred to as a mental or emotional problem that needs years and years of therapy. Then, if they acknowledge that casting out demons is possible, they consider the exorcism itself a continuation of the demonic activity as those in Jesus’ day. This is quite an exercise in circular thinking!
THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL
All the miracles that God does are precious because they are the work of His hands! Having read thus far you have seen creative miracles, provision miracles, healing miracles, raising the dead and the list goes on. There is no such thing as a little or unimportant miracle. As God saw after each day of creation, it was good! All miracles of God are good.
But to us, as Christians, the miracle of the new birth stands out as being unusually good! Why? Because in it is found all that Jesus’ redemption affords!
Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” A person who has not made Jesus Lord and Savior is:
Lost – Luke 15:1-7
Dead – Ephesians 2:1
In Darkness – Matthew 6:23, John 1:5, John 8:12, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13
Naked – 2 Corinthians 5:3, Revelation 3:17
Outside the Covenant – Ephesians 2:11-12
Sinner – Luke 15:7
Has no hope & without God – Ephesians 2:12
However, when he is born again (John 3:3, 5) he has all these resolved.
He has everlasting life. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 5:24 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
John 10:10 says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Now notice this passage in Ephesians 2:1-10, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We were made alive, freed from Satan’s dominion, no longer a child of wrath, He made us alive together with Christ, He raised us up together with Christ, He seated us with Christ, we are a trophy of His grace, we have been saved through faith, and we are His workmanship. Hallelujah! Praise God! Praise God!
We are a new creation in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” He is not a renovated person, he is a new person. The old has gone, the new has come. The new is the nature of Jesus Christ in us. Our old dead spirit is now alive with the life of God (Col. 1:20, 2 Peter 1:2-3).
Every time a person makes Jesus his Savior a resurrection has occurred! A previously dead person has been given new life. This is a miracle! It is a miracle that happens instantly. The seed was sown, someone watered it, and someone else helped in the harvest. But the moment of harvest is when the miracle happened.
But that is not all that is in our salvation. The new believer begins to grow (2 Pet.3:18). His mind begins to be renewed (Rom.12:1-2). His behavior begins to change as he becomes more Christ-like. He begins to devour the Word of God. He develops a prayer life. He becomes part of a local congregation for fellowship and worship. All of these help him become the person he was meant to be. The miracle continues to affect all parts of his being. The miracle of the new birth is a continuing miracle. Yes, it happened at a point in time, but the effects continue to happen. The miracle is ever-expanding!
MIRACLES IN THE CHURCH
We will examine some of the miracles mentioned in the book of Acts from the first century. As we see these, notice who was involved and how they responded to the power of God as it was released.
The lame man at the Beautiful Gate
Peter and John came to the temple at three p.m. for the normal time of prayer. There was a lame man lying at the gate, who had been lame since birth. He was forty years old. His purpose for being there was to beg for money. Seeing this, Peter said to him, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God” (Acts 3:6-8). When the people nearby saw this they were filled with wonder and amazement.
Peter used this occasion to preach Jesus to the crowd that gathered. He explained that it was through faith in the name of Jesus that this man had been healed. The religious crowd did not like what had happened and put Peter and John in jail. However, “…many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). It is unclear if that is an additional five thousand that got saved on that day or if it means that two thousand were added that day to the believers in Jerusalem that now brought the total to five thousand. At any rate, as a result of the miracle healing the Gospel was preached and many got right with God!
Ananias and Sapphira
As a result of the lame man’s healing, the church began to experience a revival of community life that resulted in people selling excess possessions and bringing them to the church to give to those in need.
Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold a possession and brought part of the sale price and gave it to the apostles to be given to the needy. They said they had brought the total proceeds from the sale. Peter, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?” (Acts 5:3). The gift of prophecy, along with the gift of the word of knowledge, and the gift of discerning of spirits, had revealed what they did. Ananias fell down and died on the spot. About three hours later Sapphira came in and Peter confronted her by asking if they had sold the land for the price that Ananias had said. She agreed. Peter said, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out. Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last…” (Acts 5:7-9).
What were the results of this miracle? Great awe, reverence, or respect spread among those who heard about it. Many other signs, wonders, and miracles began to occur near the temple. “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them” (Acts 5:14-15). It became a mass healing and deliverance revival. “Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed” (Acts 5:16).
One thing we learn from all this is that miracles lead to other gifts and blessings from God. The person who receives a miracle, they are certainly blessed. But usually, it does not stop with one person but extends out to family, friends, and others who hear about it. Their faith is encouraged to believe and trust in the Lord also.
Philip
Stephen had been stoned to death, and many of the believers were scattered as a result of the persecution. As they left Jerusalem they began to preach everywhere they went. Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached Jesus to them. And, “…multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles that he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:4-8).
Notice the order of events that happened: first, Philip preached the Word about Jesus, second, the multitude heard what was said and saw what was done, third, the response was that demons came out and many sick were healed, fourth, there was great joy as a result of the hand of God at work.
A lesson learned from this is that the Word of God should always be presented so that a response is required from the hearers.
Aeneas
Peter came to the city of Lydda and found a paralyzed man who had been bedridden for eight years. He said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed. Then he arose immediately” (Acts 9:32-35). As a result of this miracle, people from the cities of Lydda and Sharon heard about it and many turned to the Lord.
Tabitha or Dorcas
At Joppa, there was a lady who was a great seamstress who did a lot of good deeds for others. She got sick and died. Because Lydda was close to Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there so they sent for him to come to Joppa. When he arrived, he heard the mourning and people talking about all the good deeds that Tabitha had done. He put them all out of the room and knelt down to pray. “And turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up” (Acts 9:36-41). As a result of this restoration to life, many believed in the Lord.
A couple of things stand out to me, first, Peter was a man of faith, and second, he prayed to determine what the Lord wanted to do about Tabitha before he did anything. He did not assume anything but was obviously asking God what He wanted to be done. After determining that it was the Lord’s will and timing, he commanded her to arise and she was restored to life.
Healing a cripple man at Lystra
This man had been crippled from birth. He was listening to Paul preach. Paul could tell by the way the man was listening intently that he had faith to be healed. So he said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And the man leaped and walked (Acts 14:8-11).
We see that the cripple man had faith to be healed. No doubt, as he heard the word preached by Paul faith was imparted. The Bible says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Paul was anointed by the Spirit of God, this man had faith to be healed, so Paul commanded the man to stand and he was instantly healed! That combination of the word, faith, and anointing brings results!
DO MIRACLES HAPPEN TODAY?
It is one thing to believe that miracles happened in the Old Testament or in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles; but an entirely different thing to believe that they happen in our day. We can believe something from a historical perspective but not apply it to our lives. To help us overcome this mindset, let’s look at some passages of Scripture.
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” He has not changed His character, His power, or His willingness to meet human needs.
Mark 16:17-18 says, “And these signs will follow those who believe: in my name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” Jesus said this after His resurrection and right before He returned to the Father. These were among His last words. It seems to me that He was commissioning them to carry on His works.
Mark 16: 20 says, “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word through the accompanying signs.” The disciples took Him at His word and began to preach the Word and the supernatural began to happen.
1 Corinthians 12:28 says, “And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” Notice – This verse says God has appointed or placed these in the church. The church is still here. These gifts and ministries that were working in the first-century church should still be working in our day!
1 Corinthians 12:10 says, “To another the working of miracles…” This is mentioned in the middle of a list of spiritual gifts that have been given to the church.
Galatians 3:5 says, “Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
Hebrews 2:4 says, “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts (distributions) of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?”
Do we have examples that are verifiable today?
Church history is filled with accounts of those who have been healed, risen from the dead, and had miracles happening of all types.
Two times in my life I have received miracle healings, both of these related to my heart. I am sure that there are other occasions when something has happened supernaturally when I wasn’t aware of it.
Recently, during a Sunday morning church service at New Life Church in Louisville, Ky. a word of knowledge was called out about someone being healed in their thumb. A man responded by coming to an altar worker and telling how his thumb had been fractured and that he could not move it for a long time. The worker prayed for him and his thumb became numb. All pain left and he began to move it. The thumb was restored to health instantly. Praise God!
These types of things happen frequently during times of worship and the proclamation of the Word of God. We have a healing room ministry on Thursday nights. Healing teams are available to minister to the sick. There have been quite a number of people supernaturally healed in answer to believing prayer. I remember one young man who came with a serious back condition. He had been on very strong medicines, and had a number of medical procedures on his back but with no improvement. When his mother brought him in he could hardly walk. One of the prayer teams gathered around him, laid their hands on him, and prayed. He began to jump, walk and move about totally free of pain. One year later, he is still healed! Praise God!
So, what can I do if I need a miracle?
Several things come to mind:
First, make sure you are right with God. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ invite Him into your life to be Lord and Savior (John 3:3, 5; John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, 13).
Second, read the promises of the New Testament that tell you what God has done for you.
Third, ask God to heal you or meet your need based on those promises.
Fourth, get other believers to pray with you about your particular situation.
Fifth, when God answers your prayer and brings the miracle to pass, be sure to give Him all the praise and honor for doing it.
Sixth, become a member of a Bible-believing church where you can continually be taught, mentored and discipled in the things of God and His Word.
Does God really want to do a miracle for me?
He really does! Read His Word and your faith will become strong. You will see that what He has done for others He can do for you. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will meet you! He loves you! He wants the very best for you. Trust Him. Believe His Word and act on it!