Expect Miracles

Day one hundred sixty-five

A couple of weeks ago my family was visiting another ward's church service and during the closing prayer the man stated the words "keep it holy".  For some unknown reason, my eldest son grabbed onto those words and after some contemplation, decided that he wanted to use them in place of the word "Goodbye".  So now when he leaves he says, "Keep it holy, Mom."  It has become the new catchphrase at my house, but it has also brought with it some discussion about what a sweet thought that is to leave with someone.  A blessing of holiness is indeed sweet!

It reminds me of the word Shalom that the Hebrews use for hello and goodbye.  It has a much deeper meaning than just a simple greeting.  According to Strong's Concordance 7965 Shalom also means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. What a mighty blessing to give to people!

So this morning I prayed with gratitude for the blessings of holiness that my family leaves me with.  It not only reminds me that I need to behave in such a way, but it focuses my mind throughout the day on holy matters.  I am grateful for a son that sees the power of three words, "Keep it holy", and has decided to share them with others.  It is always sweet to be taught by the ones that you taught, the student becomes the teacher, what a great moment!  I am grateful for the Spirit that is in my life and blesses my family.  The Spirit that each of us brings into our home is how we have remained so close and increased our testimonies and love of God.  And so I wish to say to all who read my blog, "Keep it holy!"    

Joshua 3:14-17

As I mentioned in a previous post, the children of Israel were facing a big problem. The Jordon River was over 1 mile wide and there were a lot of people who had to cross, and yet the Lord wanted them to go over. Some might say they could build a bridge or use boats.  There wasn't time for that, the Lord wanted them to go quickly.  Besides, the longer they took the more they would have been sitting ducks for their enemies. There was only one way around their problem and that was through it!

Have you ever sized up your problem and thought about how big it was? Maybe you looked at it and concluded, "There is no way around, through, over or past this problem." I suppose we have all been like the 10 spies that returned from spying on the land of Canaan with Caleb and Joshua. We have sized up our problem and think that it is more than we can ever face (Num 13:31-33). Our problem is that when we face a difficult situation, we forget about God! Where we see only problems, God sees only solutions. Where we look at things and say, "There's no way!" God looks at the problem and says, "Follow me, I have a plan!"

God's plan for the Israelites: "When the feet of the priests enter Jordan, I am going to part the waters and lead you through on the dry ground!" (Josh 3:13)  There was a catch in this plan and it was that the waters would not part until the priests who were carrying the Ark stepped into the water. In other words, it took a step of faith.  The people would need to obediently follow the Lord for them to see the miracle come to pass.

What a great lesson! Too often, we want the Lord to just fix everything in our lives for us. We don't want to have to make any decisions nor do we want to have to exercise our faith in Him. We just want Him to do it and that will be the end of it. (I have been there many times!) 

However, most of the time, God requires us to take steps of faith in order that we might see our miracle. God had a plan, but for this plan to work, it required faith on the part of His people. The same is true for us! As long as we are trying to solve our own problems we are not walking in faith. It is when we turn the problem over, step away from it and let the Lord have it, that we will see it taken care of in His glory.

Expect Miracles (v 13-17) - When the priests stepped into that raging river, it parted and God opened a path of dry ground through the waters for His people. By the way, verse 16 says that the waters backed up to the City of Adam. From what I could find this city is some 20 miles north of where the children of Israel were crossing. God made them a path through the water that was more than adequate for His people to get through.

What does this tell us about God's solutions? When He solves a problem, it won't just be patched up and ready to fall apart again, it will be done right and and have lasting effects! Effects that can be both of a physical and spiritual nature.  Miracles are a part of God's divine teaching, we are meant to learn from them!

Here's the real eye opener: The God who did this great thing for Israel is the same God we love and worship! What He did for them, He can do now. He is still the same miracle working God that He always has been and really He is all we need! We should learn to expect miracles when we are dealing with God!

There is a saying that goes: "Miracles happen to those that believe in them."  I would like to change one word:  "Miracles happen to those that believe in Him!"  That is the key to miracles, that is how miracles come about and that is how we recognize the miracles that He puts in our lives.  It is my hope that we will all learn to see the miracles in our lives and know that the Lord is still blessing His people in amazing ways!