Mini Miracles - Crosswalk the Devotional - June 4

Truths observed at the intersection of faith and life by Crosswalk.com editors [Crosswalk.com Logo]( Crosswalk: The Devotional [Devotionals]( [Newsletters]( [e-Cards]( Mini-Miracles by Shawn McEvoy So they all ate and were filled. [Mark 6:42]( The title of my devotional today strikes me as oxymoronic. Miracles, after all, are defined as acts of God, amazing and marvelous events, and "seals of a divine mission" ([Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary](. Generally speaking, there's nothing small about them. What I'm talking about, then, are instances of heavenly intervention in the lives of believers that impact what we would consider "minor" areas of our existence, the things that cause us to make statements like: "It showed me that God cares about even the small things in our lives," always as if that's a profoundly shocking proclamation. Nobody ever responds by saying, "Well, duh…" I think that's because it never stops being a mind-blowing concept - the Creator of the universe, who hears the prayers and praises of billions simultaneously and loves each one the same, provided, perhaps, just the right amount of money for a struggling single mom to buy her child a pair of shoes. It's not the parting of the Red Sea to preserve for Himself a people, or the resurrection of His son to purchase the redemption of humanity. It's, for lack of a better term, a mini-miracle. I remember one time in our Adult [Bible]( Fellowship class my friend Karen stepped in to teach our continuing series in Mark's gospel. We were in Chapter Six, focusing primarily on the Feeding of the 5,000. As she began her lesson, Karen admitted that she'd never quite been able to visualize this scene, or understand exactly what the miracle was meant to show. I mean, there is the lesson of provision, but the human body can go without food for quite some time. Jesus Himself fasted in the wilderness for 40 days ([Matthew 4:1-4](. So it's not like life and death were hanging in the balance if the people who had followed Him to this "desolate place" went without dinner that night. It could be, Karen suggested, that Jesus just didn't want the people to go away; He had just suffered the death of His cousin John the Baptist, and recently endured the "amazing unbelief" ([Mark 6:6]( of those from His hometown of Nazareth. It could be Jesus took immense delight in this multitude foregoing their bodily needs to attend to His Word. It very well could be our Lord simply wanted to do something "just for them." Maybe, Karen said, that's why she always tended to overlook this miracle a little bit. "You know how sometimes when God does something that you know was 'just for you,' and you tell someone else about it, and they're like, 'That's cool and all,' but it just doesn't carry the same meaning for them?" I knew exactly what that was like, and I liked where she was going. I could see an even greater personalization in mini-miracles, in God drawing delight from blessing our socks off in ways that speak to our individual hearts. The idea also gave me greater permission to attribute to the Lord all sorts of transpirings that I had chalked up to my own efforts, happenstance, or even worse, had gone without noticing. If, for instance, I told you about the time we thought we'd lost my wife's keys - including several costly ones - only to find them sitting precariously on a single steel beam of the auto transport behind our moving van, maybe you'd respond the way my friend Scott did: "You got lucky, dude." Yeah, well, I guess that's why Karen says sometimes these events are "just for us." I saw those keys, I knew the bumpy route and wet weather we had traveled, I was astounded, I was humbled. I decided that giving credit to the Lord for things that bless you is never wrong, as suggested by [James 1:17](. [CONTINUE READING →]( You May Also Like: [10 Sure Signs You Need to Make Time for Yourself]( Lindsey Brady Maybe you’re thinking you already take a lot of time for yourself, that you’re doing fine. However, in my experience, even the people taking time for themselves aren’t taking enough. Before you assume you’re in the clear, look out for these 10 sure signs you need to make more time for yourself. [CONTINUE READING →]( [What Did Jesus Say about End Times?]( Dr. Roger Barrier Jesus has much to say to us about end times. It’s all right for us to shout something back to him! Why wait? Take a moment and get down on your knees and join the millions who one day will shout in unison, “Jesus Christ is Lord!" [CONTINUE READING →]( [Crosswalk.com Logo]( [Read about Salem Web Network]( | [Unsubscribe From This Email]( [Email Preference Center]( | [View in Browser]( © 2021 Salem Web Network. All rights reserved. 111 Virginia Street, Suite 500, Richmond, VA 23219. This email is never sent unsolicited. You are receiving this email because your email address, {EMAIL}, is signed up to receive newsletters, updates, and special offers from Crosswalk.com - The Devotional. [Link](