Expect A Miracle! A DevotionByDon Our previous pastor at St.

Bede Catholic Church, Monsignor McCarron, had a saying we often heard: Expect a miracle! I didnt know exactly what he meant, but I certainly agreed it was good to believe in miracles. After he transferred to another parish, there were many things I missed about Monsignor, including his beautiful, booming baritone voice with which he sang many parts of the Mass, and the impactful points he used in his homilies, which were always not only instructive and interesting, but were also delivered with a dramatic style that kept us fully attentive and engaged. Still, the signature point he took with him was his reminder that we should Expect a miracle! Remembering his statement, and still wondering what it meant, led me to call him at his new location and ask, What did you mean by that haunting declaration and where did it come from? His answer (paraphrased) was simple and profound: After 36 years in the priesthood, Ive learned God delivers miracles at any moment, just when it is needed. They may not come in the form were expecting, like being raised from the dead or having cancer instantly removed, but they do come. If we dont believe this, we might just need to look back and reflect on those difficult times in our lives, when Gods grace was indeed sufficient. I count the ones I have already received and witnessed, including that I have an eternal life now thats a miracle! Monsignor says this expectancy helps you see the miracles that are happening, especially when life is dark or dismal, when we couldnt handle life on our own. He says life still has its difficult times, but this conviction has helped him expect Gods grace, .. even anticipate it, by faith. How about you? Have you seen miracles? What are some of them? With the help of Monsignors reminder, I realize Ive seen miracles in my life, from small to big, with the small sometimes coming in the form of finding something I just couldnt find until I stopped and prayed for Gods help. The big includes surviving falling out of a 2nd-story window as a child. Some say I must have landed on my head, but they havent explained what that means! Like the Monsignor, my biggest one is my being given an eternal life. And in-between, Ive been spared from a serious illness in India, protected from evil forces in a 3rd world country, received Gods call to quit my job and go into ministry work, survived the 4 total loss car
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crashes I was a part of, and been given 40 years of marriage to Janet, plus two wonderful sons. The thought of miracles might lead us to the Gospels, where many Jesus miracles are found thirty-seven according to one article I read, with most of those being crowdpleasers. I really cant relate to these miracles witnessed by crowds, since most of my miracles have been only of my own awareness. But the many current-day miracles I will share are none-the-less inspiring and encouraging. If do I get to the point of having a clear and constant expectation, probably the most difficult part for me to understand will still be why Gods miracles are not in the form and timing for which I was asking. Sure, we know it is to be in Gods will (Romans 12:2 NKJV And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.) but we also hear several times that if we ask in Jesus Name, God will provide, as though there were a success-formula. Two of these are John 16:23-24 (Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.) and John 14:13-14 (Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.). Hmmm, interesting that the word will is also in both of these! One source, www.gotquestions.org, said, Praying in Jesus name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. It said, Praying in Jesus' name means the same thing as praying according to the will of God, and it cited 1 John 5:14-15, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears uswhatever we askwe know that we have what we asked of him. They concluded with Praying in Jesus name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus. We can conclude the basis for receiving miracles starts with faith. Matthew 21:22 tells us, And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. So one aspect of having a miracle-expectancy, and of seeing miracles when they happen, might be how we maintain that faith in the face of not getting what we really wanted God to give us and when we really wanted it to happen.
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Heres where the Monsignor paints a picture that helps me understand. He speaks of a deep belief in a God of miracles Who loves us and pours out His miraculous grace all the time, especially through His forgiveness. We see changed hearts as people come to faith-in-Christ, or as they soften a hard shell around their hearts. These transformations only happen as a miracle and thats a point we are to take-in. Why are you where you are today, except for a miracle? How have you survived in the face of all that is wrong with the world, except for a miracle? Are we receiving miracles but just not seeing them match those on our punch list? David Cowger tells a story of expecting a miracle and seeing it come to pass. In February of 2003, David was at an outdoor church banquet with his family. One of the Elders asked David to light the grill, which did not have a button for igniting the flame. So David struck a match, asked a friend to turn on the gas and bent down to start the flame. When doing so, David immediately heard a loud whoosh and saw a ball of flame coming toward him. This sound was the result of another friends having turned the gas on earlier and then having forgotten to turn it off. As he quickly raised his head, Davids right hand was engulfed by a ball of flame, produced as a result of the chemicals in the mix of fire and gas. After batting the fire off of his hand, David saw the 3rd degree burns and the drawingup of his hand into a crippled condition. As his daughter cried out, Daddy, look at your hand!, David prayed, Jesus, please straighten out my hand, so as not to frighten my daughter. Instantly, his hand straightened and the pain ceased. He was rushed to a hospital, where the doctors wrapped his hand in bandages and told him they would need to leave it in that state for 2 days, so they could determine the next action needed. The doctors explained to David the high level of pain he would experience over the next 2 weeks. However, during the 2 week period, David had no pain and when the bandages were removed, the hand was greatly healed. David asked for one miracle, but received several: the straightening of his hand to calm his daughter, the lack of pain throughout the process and the healing that leaves his hand in relatively good shape today. I asked David how he came to his peace while going through what should have been a traumatic experience. He said, I know God can heal and work miracles because I believe Gods Word. David also shared of his bout with cancer when he had days of uncertainty, leading him to wonder if he would ever see his children grown. At that time, he prayed,
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God, I need Your presence! and God said in response, Trust me. David drew on the experience of his hand being burned and now says, On this day, God gave me His presence, and His presence gave me the peace and realization of His trust. THAT made the difference. The takeaway from Davids experience is that he expected a miracle. And whether his faith led God to heal him, as He did for the woman with hemorrhages for 12 years, who said in Mark 5:34 and Matthew 9:21-23, If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured! (She expected a miracle!) or whether his healing was strictly Gods unforeseen gift, David trusted God, knowing He was in charge. Steve Scheffler is a dear and talented friend, whose body prematurely evolved, affected by earlier abuse and unfortunate illnesses, into an what appeared to be an aged and decrepit frame. Steve was wrought with horrible pain in his back, neck and leg, having survived multiple operations yet never having found the freedom from the excruciating discomfort and movement restriction. One day while in his studio, Steve cried out to God, asking Why, Lord! and When will this end?! As Steve reach ed up to a shelf, with his fists clinched from his suffering, he heard God say, Do you love me? Yes, answered Steve, You know I love You! How much do you love Me, God asked, in a voice that was unmistakably clear. Steve said next, You know better than me, Lord; I dont know how to answer. I know I love You but I dont know if I love You enough! Open your hands, God told him, and raise them to Me. At that moment, as he raised and opened his hands, Steve felt a cleansing of his body and immediate freedom from all that had plagued him. Steve fell to the floor and cried. When I saw him a few days later, he could do squats, could jump and had total control of his body. Steve may not have expected this specific miracle, but his faith did expect a miracle. A former ICM board member has his Expecting A Miracle story and keeps us regularly informed as he reports on his journey. In and out of dire diagnoses, Roger maintains a positive attitude and heart for whatever God expects of him. So in a sense, he wants his expectations to be Gods expectations. Roger and his wonderful wife, Karen, have come to see blessings beyond their expectations, realizing that God has sent angels to be with and comfort them. Their stories abound of how former associates, neighbors, friends and family have blessed them through visits, letters, a large red bow on their porch, and so many other ways. Karen cites a visit by their pastor, who looked Roger in the eye before praying and said, You have done
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enough, my friend. Each of them instantly knew his meaning was not to say it was over, but rather, was said to calm Rogers feelings that he might not have done enough. Said Karen: I felt so much peace when those words were spoken and I knew God was in that room with all of us. God is right with us always and He will never forsake us! I shared this devotion with Roger, asking if I could include his story. He said, Every time I have a pain I think is unbearable, or fear tugs at me, God sends an email, a letter or a call from a friend that makes my heart overflow. My life is full of unexpected blessings. With this belief, how can he not expect a miracle! Dick Woodward weighed in on how he expects miracles, in the face of having been a quadriplegic since 1995. Dick says, over time, many well-intended friends have insisted he should be praying, each in their own certain way, for a miracle of healing that would give him the use of his limbs. At one point, a visiting Australian pastor delivered a message that said the inward man was a greater value than the outward man and, thus, inner healing was a greater value than outer healing. Once Dick accepted his condition, he realized that his acceptance was that inner healing and that was a miracle. So Dick expects miracles, but he believes God does everything for His good, and not our good. Says Dick: We dont give up our view of expecting because we know God can do it. But we dont live on whether it does or does not happen. Someone I know reported learning that a friend had been diagnosed with a fatal disease, causing her to be unable to talk and to lose the functioning of her hands and feet. She and her husband agreed we are told to pray for miracles and pondered together how they were to prepare themselves for the not-happening of a miracle they wanted to happen. Her husband said the closest thing he could think of was a child at Christmas, wanting a pony. He said, The child knows he wont receive that pony but he prays for it anyway. My wife is that pony, and I want that pony with all my heart. All I know to do is to keep praying for the pony. Ultimately, God is God and He will be with us on our journey. In spite of their trial, the husband and wife maintain positive spirits, and she often starts the day with a smile. I dont know about you, but that sounds like a miracle to me! He still wants that pony but finds he is moving to a different point of view. He says, I am overwhelmed that God has given us this amazing ability to give thanks for all things. Somehow in the midst of the brutality of this disease even as we are
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brought to tears we can catch each others eye and find a smile. It almost seems unnatural that we could have grateful hearts. Indeed, a miracle beyond expectations! Mark shares a story of expecting a miracle in verses 46-52 of his 10th Chapter: They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have pity on me. And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, Son of David, have pity on me. Jesus stopped and said, Call him. So they called the blind man, saying to him, Take courage; get up, he is calling you. He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man replied to him, Master, I want to see. Jesus told him, Go your way; your faith has saved you. Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. Bartimaeus expected, with great conviction, a miracle. Perhaps a key revealed here is that Bartimaeus asked Jesus for a miracle once he knew He was near. So might another application for us be that we must first know that Jesus is near, casting aside all distractions, and then expecting as we ask?! There are so many inspiring miracle expectation stories that it is difficult to decide which ones to not share. Ponder this one as we hear from another friend, Brian Fleming, who writes wonderful devotional thoughts and recently gave one on our expectations. Brian told us that the oil stopped flowing in the II Kings 4:1-6 passage because the wife stopped believing. [Read passage] He says that if she had continued to bring empty jars, the oil would have continued to flow. And he concludes by telling us we should never STOP in your EXPECTATION. Dont stop believing God! God thinks of the Unthinkable so the Impossible can become POSSIBLE. Brian concludes by asking, What are you expecting God to do today? One final story is from a recent experience of mine. Waiting in line at a Subway as everyone watched a large order holding up the process, I turned to the person behind me and said, Hello, how are you? His response was, Blessed and affirmed, every day! In our ensuing conversation, he boldly said, I try to tell someone about Him (pointing upward) every day. I often meet young or new believers, who wonder how they can know He has control of their lives. I tell them to think about a friend in need and to begin praying for them and their need. And then to watch how God answers that prayer. This man expects a miracle!
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Earlier I mentioned that Janet and I have been married over 40 years. Thats a miracle, as is Dois and Shirleys being married for over 70 years! And just as it takes Two to Tango, perhaps it takes two aspects for those miracles-we-want-to-happen: our part and Gods part. If this is so, our part certainly includes faith, and might also include certain actions that position us to receive and see the miracle God delivers. What, then is a miracle? If were to expect one, what is it we are expecting? One definition of a miracle is A demonstration of Gods power, contrary to nature; other definitions I found were similar. Another way of describing our expectation would be our going from No-way! to His-way! with our knowing the miracle can happen, through our faith, even when it hasnt happened for a period of time. And a definition of expecting a miracle might be, Knowing God has the power to perform miracles for His people, and trusting He will perform them in your life, even though He has not. In an article titled The Importance of Waking Up, Ruth Haley Barton describes waiting for the morning light, having a soul that is calm and clear like the stillness of a quiet pond. She says, There is never any doubt that the light will come; just quiet anticipation. Perhaps thats how we are to wait on expected miracles. A good close for this devotion is to share another quote from Monsignor: I do believe that God is a God of miracles, but He is a God of Love first, and that means that miracles, the really important miracles, will be frequent, constant, and potent. BUT by this very fact, they will come to appear ordinary, and not miraculous at all. The raising of Lazarus was spectacular, but Lazarus would die again. The love offered between two married people seems ordinary and commonplace, but our faith says it is the very stuff of, and door to, heaven. Expect a miracle, because they are everywhere! As you walk outside today, observe the miracles of creation and consider a blind persons expecting to see; hear the beautiful sounds of nature and consider a deaf persons expecting to hear; go to your next destination and consider a paraplegics expecting to walk. Expect a miracle, and prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Amen.

Post Script: As this devotion was completed, David Cowger had learned he had potential cancerous tumors and that the path he was on was uncertain. In sharing this, David said that despite the uncertainty, he remains confident in Who God is and what He can do, and he is excited to know this is an opportunity for God to show He is great. Whether in the form of a healed hand or in some other form, David expects a miracle. Perhaps we can best be a part of others miracle expectations by helping with our faith and prayer.

Scripture Used in Expect A Miracle! Romans 12:2 NKJV And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. John 16:23-24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 1 John 5:14-15, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears uswhatever we askwe know that we have what we asked of him. Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Mark 5:34 & Matthew 9:21-23 If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured! Mark 10:46-52 They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have pity on me. And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, Son of David, have pity on me. Jesus stopped and said, Call him. So they called the blind man, saying to him, Take courage; get up, he is calling you. He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man replied to him, Master, I want to see. Jesus told him, Go your way; your faith has saved you. Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. II Kings 4:1-6 The wife of a man from the prophets cried out to Elisha, my husband is dead, and you know he revered the Lord. His creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves. Elisha replied, how can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? Your servant has nothing except a small jar of oil. Elisha said, Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Dont ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, bring me another one. But he replied, there is not a jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing.