Miracle

I was surprised.

(If I had listened more carefully to my own sermons, I probably wouldn't have been.)

Maryan and I had invited a missionary couple to dinner. During our conversation, they shared a story from the last time they had visited us—one that neither of us knew.

Several years earlier, after witnessing the heartbreaking conditions of street children in Guatemala, they founded an orphanage and even adopted several of the children themselves. By the time they came to visit us, they had adopted seven children and were in desperate need of a new washer and dryer. Maryan and I were grateful to be able to purchase those appliances for them.

The night before they were to return to Guatemala, the husband woke up in a panic. They had been given many generous gifts during their trip, including a vehicle, but suddenly he realized they didn't have enough money to pay the import tariffs required to bring everything into Guatemala.

His wife then remembered something she had completely forgotten. When they left our home a week earlier, Maryan had handed her an envelope. She had tucked it into her Bible for safekeeping—and never opened it.

When she finally did, she found a check for $3,000.

It was the exact amount they needed to pay the tariffs.

To them, it was nothing short of a miracle.

This Sunday's Scripture tells of Abraham's servant, who is sent back to Abraham's homeland to find a wife for Isaac. Faced with an overwhelming task, he turns to God in prayer. He asks for a simple sign—that the right woman would not only offer him a drink but would also willingly water his camels.

Before he even finishes praying, Rebekah appears. Her extraordinary generosity and compassion reveal the kind of person God had already prepared for this moment. The answer to the prayer was already on its way before the prayer was ever spoken.

Looking back, I realized something similar had happened in our own story.

Whenever missionaries visited our home, Maryan always slipped them a small gift before they left. I never questioned it. On this occasion, when she asked me what she should do, I gave one of the wisest answers I've ever given:

"Do what's in your heart."

We never talked about it again.

Until that evening over dinner, I had no idea she had written a check for $3,000. In fact, Maryan herself had completely forgotten about it.

But perhaps that is how God often works.

Long before someone knows they will have a need, God is already preparing another person to meet it.

God had prepared Rebekah.

God had prepared Maryan.

Neither knew how their simple act of faith would become an answer to someone else's prayer.

Miracles are not always dramatic displays of supernatural power. Sometimes they begin with an ordinary person quietly listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and responding with generosity, compassion, and trust. What seems like a simple act of obedience can become God's miracle in another person's life.

May God give us ears to hear the Spirit's gentle prompting, hearts willing to trust, and hands ready to serve. And may our ordinary acts of faith become extraordinary blessings in the lives of others.

Pastor Sunny