MiraclesLiving In Expectation Of Miracles

Miracles

Living In Expectation Of Miracles

While just a little boy in the Lutheran Church, I remember asking the pastor why we didn't see miracles in the church like had happened in the Bible. He told me they were used in New Testament times to jump start the church, and were not needed now. As a boy of about ten, I remember feeling cheated, for I wanted to see miracles, and felt we still needed them in this age.

There is a man in Irvine, California, who prayed for help from Saint George the Great Martyr, only to have the saint appear before him, and give him a wooden cross. Within a short time this cross was gushing forth holy myrrh, and healing to those who'd been anointed with it. A priest friend showed me the video of the cross, and the myrrh was literally gushing out of the cross and into a bucket, continuously.

The Myrrh Streaming Icon of the Mother of God of Hawaii is another example of holy myrrh streaming forth, performing miracles of healing of both physical and spiritual nature. When I myself was scheduled for by-pass surgery, after anointing myself with the myrrh from the Hawaiian icon, the cardiologist canceled the surgery, right in the operating room, and this after two days of testing had shown I needed stints, and at the very least, one by-pass.

The scriptures tell us that we can move mountains if we only have the faith of a mustard seed, yet many don't expect they'll see a miracle, even when they pray for one. The expectation of experiencing miracles, such as healing, are far from the mindset of many Christians, and I suspect it is because they don't think their faith is strong enough.

The truth is, we don't always prepare ourselves to live a life that is open to miracles, for in the little things, during our everyday comings and goings, we live as though anything needed depends totally on our own efforts. We don't live with the expectation that God cares about our needs, both physical, spiritual, and material, in nature. We don't live with the expectation that God cares enough about us that He enters into our lives in a real, concrete way. So we go about our lives as though there probably is a God out there, but a God that is hardly interested in me.

If we begin to live each day with the expectation that God is not only there, but is actually interacting in a real way, we will soon experience the truth of this. We will begin to see with new eyes, and hear with new ears, how much God does enter into each and every moment of our life, if only we are paying attention.

Faith must be built up little by little, much like a painter puts on layers of oil paint, until one day, layer upon layer, a beautiful painting is resting on the easel. Like oil painting, faith is formed through layers of learning to trust, so that one day we realize the depth of God's involvement in our life has been there all along, and we experience the miracles that have been happening around us, all along.

With love in Christ,

Abbot Tryphon