Miracles
but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Matthew 14:24-27
STORY
Rana Awdish wrote a book titled In Shock, that was published in 2017. In her book, Dr. Awdish described how she never imagined that her medical condition that took her to the hospital would result in hemorrhaging nearly all of her blood volume and losing her unborn first child. But after her first visit, and the multiple hospitalizations that followed, Awdish spent months fighting for her life, enduring consecutive major surgeries and experiencing multiple overlapping organ failures.
At each step of the recovery process, Awdish was confronted with something even more unexpected. As a physician who was now a patient, she experienced the repeated cavalier behavior from her fellow physicians that they show to all their patients –indifference following human loss, disregard for anguish and suffering, an unremitting emotional distance, and never allowing a patient to have any input into their medical care. As a patient she came to realize how physicians approach their patients with indifference. This experience made her realize that as an attending physician herself, she also neglected the feelings of her patients. The title of the book comes from this experience as she was “in shock” to learn of the emotional distance that physicians kept themselves from their patients.
Dr. Rana Awdish also learned something else, and that is to put religion over science. She previously considered prayer as an indication of one’s inability to cope. She thought those seeking a miracle were in denial of the reality of their situation. It was only when she attended church after her hospital stay that Awdish’s perspective changed.
During her months of hospitalization individuals in the Roman Catholic church that she sporadically attended were continually in prayer for her recovery. When she returned to church the people saw her as a walking miracle. Even the priest highlighted this belief during the service when he referred to Awdish as one among us who “walked on water,” referring to one of the miracle stories associated with Jesus. Being seen as a walking miracle, many of the parishioners came to her for support and reassurance. Awdish wrote of her new understanding of religion and hope and seeking a miracle with these words:
Sitting there I began to see it differently. I heard them. They were praying for a miracle not because they didn’t understand how sick their spouses were, but rather precisely because they did know how sick they were. Hope was not, as I had believed, an unrealistic, unfettered optimistic emotion. Hope was as orientation, a way of being in the face of a reality that was not their choosing…hope represented an acknowledgment of the limitations of the reality they found themselves in. It was an invocation. Hope gave them resiliency, a reason to go on, a belief that there could be a future.
DEVOTION
The Bible is a book of miracles. For some of the miracle stories we are able to find a natural plausible explanation for their occurrence, and for other miracle stories we will never understand how they occurred. Meteorologists tell us that winds could have parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-31). Biologists tell us that it is possible for Jonah to have lived for three days in the belly of a whale (Jonah 2:1-10). Astronomers tell us how the Bethlehem star could have moved across the galaxy (Matthew 2:1-12). Though, how can one ever explain the shadow of the sun going back ten steps, or three degrees (2 Kings 20:9-11), and of course there is the Resurrection (Mark 16:6).
Miracles. How do we explain them. My New Testament professor Dr. Joseph Weber, under whom I studied at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., guided me on how to best understand miracles. He instructed that a miracle is always preceded by a teaching, and the miracle that follows the teaching confirms the truth of that teaching. So, for me, I look for the miracle’s teaching and I don’t try to wrap myself around how it happened
On a personal note: I might have experienced some things that I thought were miracles, though I did experience one true miracle in my life, or at least I think it was. As a Virginia state trooper, I was in a very high-speed chase pursuing a very bad man. In the pursuit I cut a corner to sharp and looming before by squad car was a metal road sign pole. What would happen next was inevitable. Inevitable? I watched that metal pole pass through the right front hood of my patrol car, as both car and pole were undamaged and I was keep going. A very bad man was soon apprehended and is still serving time in the Richmond State Penitentiary. My explanation – God very much wanted that man in jail. I can see that incident today as vivid as if it were yesterday. Miracle? You tell me.
Point to Ponder
Ø If it seems like a miracle, is it a miracle
o For me: Perception is a very important part of discerning if something was a miracle, though you have to be very cautious that you don’t see something that wasn’t there.
Ø Why do miracles occur so seldom
o For me: A miracle is a hopeful expectation for the impossible to happen and when it comes unexpected that is what makes it a miracle. If miracles were common and an everyday occurrence there would be no miracles.
Ø Are you a skeptic when someone tells you about a miracle
o For me: It depends who is sharing the miracle story to me.
Ø What miracle story recorded in the Bible has the most important teaching message attached to it
o For me: I think of Mary and her spiritual conception of Jesus. This miracle story and the resurrection of Jesus are the two most important miracles stories in the Bible since our entire Christian faith is dependent upon them. The artists of the Middle Ages had an answer for how Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. If you look at almost all the conception paintings of Mary, they will have very small and brilliant blue light on the tip of her left ear, which is the blessing of the Holy Spirit.
Ø What is the relationship of science to faith
o For me: Science continually unveils the mystery of the universe, though no matter how advance science becomes some mysteries will only be understand by faith.
Ø A miracle interrupts the laws of nature, how can this be so
o For me: This is what makes it a miracle. To interrupt the laws of nature affects the entire universe so it makes a miracle implausible until you accept that God is the creator of the universe and that God continues to oversee the universe, so God has the authority to interrupt the natural laws of the universe. If you are unable to believe that God is able to suspend the laws of nature, then you are unable to believe in God.
Ø Have you personally experienced a miracle
o For me: In my devotion I shared my miracle experience as a state trooper.
Please share other Points to Ponder so I can update my list
Please share your thoughts with me – if you desire I will publish them for others to read anonymously or first name only or your entire name as you choose