Skeptical of Miracles

I had a classmate in college whose name was Sam.  He was at the top of the class, a very sharp accounting student, and his future was looking bright.  But one summer, I think it may have been after his junior year, Sam was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer.  As I recall, the doctors told him he wouldn’t live more than six months, and that was optimistic.

We received the news of Sam’s illness when we returned to school in the fall.  Everyone was shocked because Sam was very active in sports and always seemed to be in great health.  We responded to the news by praying for God to heal Sam.  Before the semester was over, we learned that Sam had miraculously been cured and would be returning to school to finish his degree.  We were amazed that God was able to heal Sam when his outlook had been so bleak.  I never had any doubt that his healing was from God.

Last week, while in Guatemala, I had the opportunity to pray for a woman in the church who was experiencing pain in her back.  The doctor at the clinic had prescribed some strong medication to relieve the pain.  Dietrich, our interpreter asked her where her pain was, and then he told me we needed to pray for God to heal her.  After I prayed for her, he asked her if her pain was gone.  She moved around in her chair and said she felt no pain at all.  We rejoiced with her, praising God for what He had done.  But for some reason, I wondered whether she had actually been healed or if she was just putting on a show to make us feel good about praying for her.

I wrestled with this thought for the next few days as I prayed for others to be healed.  Then I realized that my skepticism was a tactic of the enemy, causing me to doubt that God would care enough to deal with such a small problem.  James 1:16-17 tells us “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

We are amazed when we see God do big things.  We should be equally amazed and thankful when God reaches down and does the things that seem to be small.  It shows how much he cares for us.  In all things, great or small, give God the glory He deserves!