I read recently in ‘The Week’ magazine under their ‘wit & wisdom’ column, a quote by Nadezhda Mandelstam saying “A good life is one in which there is no need for miracles”.
Now, given her life story and the repressive horrors she most likely encountered, including the murder of her husband under the Stalin regime, one can understand the sentiment behind the quote. She must have longed for the security of a mundane but free life.
It did catch my attention though, and made me have a good think. No-one wants the sort of life where you constantly beg for miracles due to torture, hardship or persecution, but I just get the feeling that a life with no need for miracles is something which doesn’t sit so comfortably with the outliving of a Christian life. To not need miracles is surely to limit the intervention of the divine and to say no to the interference of the sovereign, creator God. My salvation itself is a miracle ... it’s based on a virgin birth and the resurrection of the dead! I am a miracle 😊. We know that our Saviour performed many miracles and that miraculously we as Christians, have the Holy Spirit in dwelling us ... but can we expect miracles in our lives beyond that?
I say yes. Why?, because I’ve experienced many personally. They may not be the demonstrative dramatics like some claim ... they are personal to me. They can be life saving, liberating, clarifying, restorative, the bestowment of provision and many more, but all are based on the exercise of faith which is again, a personal thing.
I’d like to suggest that the absence of miracles in our lives would paint a scene of mediocrity, dullness and ignorance. Where is the learning without the experience of risk; the development of compassion without the knowledge of suffering; the lightness of liberty without the fear of oppression? How can we know what love is, joy is, contentment is, if we haven’t been exposed to sorrow and lack. Faith which brings with it Hope, is the answer, and with that comes a lifetime of miracles, seen in every day life ... an abundant life ... not perfect, and in fact, full of uncertainties, challenges and disappointments, which only serve to make the miracles even more wonderful.
We aren’t promised the old adage of a bed of roses life, in fact we’ve been promised suffering (so many mentions throughout the NT) ... but with that, comes the hope of glory and our miracle making God at the helm. If you let ‘Jesus take the wheel’ (Carrie Underwood: https://youtube.com/watch?v=k_OpRlUZQoI&feature=share) then you will get to witness and experience your share of miracles.
Ingrid x
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