The Real Miracle of Restoration

By Beverly Hill McKinney

When I was growing up, I loved the miracles from the Bible. Living near the ocean, it fascinated me to think that Moses led the people across a sea onto dry land. I would gaze at the ocean and imagine waves splashing on each side with a dry path through the middle. What a great God.

Also the story in Exodus of God feeding the children of Israel manna in the wilderness made an impression on me. Food was scarce at our house and the Lord providing food filled me with wonder.

Neither could I even imagine the three Hebrew children that were thrown in the fiery furnace. What bravery. Yet, there was God in their midst.

As I began to study the New Testament, the miracles of Christ were also awe inspiring to me.

In John 2:1-10 we read of the first public miracle of Jesus. Attending a wedding feast, Jesus mother realized there was no wine. She came to him and asked if he could do something to help out. Jesus told the servants to bring water pots and as the water was poured forth, the water turned to wine.

In Luke 9:13-17 we read the story of the feeding of the five thousand. From a small boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish Jesus multiplied the food enough to feed the entire multitude with basket fulls left over.

Mark 4:36-40 states that even the winds and waves obeyed the Savior’s voice. Although the disciples saw the many miracles Jesus performed, they were frightened when a storm came up on the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus slept, they became more and more fearful, finally calling on him to help least they die. By merely a spoken word, the storm calmed. I have seen severe storms come up on the ocean and it was always amazing to me that by a mere word, Jesus could still a storm.

When illness or death overtakes someone we love, we seek the Lord for healing and comfort. In John 11:1-44 is the story of the raising of Lazarus. How Mary and Martha grieved for their dear brother. As Jesus approached their home, Mary ran out and said “If thou hadest been here, my brother had not died.” How like Mary we are to look at our earthly circumstances and not see the miracles waiting to happen. What joy there was a few moments later when Jesus called Lazarus forth from the grave. Just imagine, Jesus had power even over death.

I was sitting in church a few weeks ago, and at the end of the service the pastor extended an invitation for anyone to accept Christ as their Savior. As I watched, a young man came forward weeping openly. As the pastor prayed with him, I sat in my seat and thanked the Lord for His ability to change a life. I prayed for a few more minutes and then left for home.

Sometime later that afternoon, I was convicted by my lack of response to this miracle in our midst. As I thought of how miracles in the Bible always moved me and the deep lessons they had instilled in my life, I realized how casual I had looked at a true miracle right before my eyes. In Luke 15:7 it states, “…Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth…” Here it states that even Heaven rejoices when a soul is restored. This realization humbled me to think that I had seen a real miracle before my eyes.

A stanza in an old hymn reads,
“It took a miracle to put the stars in place.
It took a miracle to hang the world in space;
But when he saved my soul,
Cleansed and made me whole,
It took a miracle of love and grace.”

That is the real miracle of restoration.

Beverly Hill McKinney writes from Rogue River, Oregon. bmckinnehill@yahoo.com