When I look back on my life, I am amazed at how miraculously God worked in my family. I can remember times when I doubted whether or not it was even possible for God to heal my marriage. But He did! This is what He does. This is who He is.
But why? Why does God desire to work miracles in our lives?
This is an important question, because I used to believe that God could work miracles, but I had trouble believing that He would do it for me. Maybe this is where you are right now. Maybe you believe that God can, but you don’t know if God will do it for you.
What we have to understand is that God desires to show us His glory. His miracles magnify how great He is, and they prove that He is sovereign over all. Why does He take things that seem hopeless and bring them back to life? To show us that there is nothing that is impossible for Him.
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NLT)
This is what God desires to show us, and it is a theme throughout the bible.
God performed His miraculous works over and over again, so that those watching would know that He is the Lord.
When He rescued the Israelites from slavery, He said:
“When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord .” (Exodus 7:5 NLT)
This is just one of many statements that God made in the book of Exodus. He performed so many miracles while rescuing the Israelites, but He didn’t have to. God is all powerful and sovereign over all. He could have chosen another way to rescue them, but over and over again, He declared that He would use His might, so that the Egyptians would know that He is the Lord.
Later, Jesus used miracles to prove that He is the Son of God.
“But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” (John 10:38 NLT)
God desires to use you and your story for His glory. He is not intimidated by how jacked-up your marriage is. He doesn’t see things the way that you see them. You might view your marriage as a wreck, but God sees it as an opportunity to show Himself strong in your life.
This is why we surrender our weaknesses to God, because it is His opportunity to show up and show out. It is His opportunity to prove who He is, through our circumstances. This is how God manifests Himself.
But, this isn’t the only reason why God desires to work a miracle through your situation. He isn’t just seeking to prove Himself to you, but He desires to manifest Himself to everyone watching. The people that see you in your weakness, will also see how God shows up and transforms your situation.
When God shows up in our lives, we become the vessel that He uses to reach someone else.
So what part do we play in the miracle?
Well, we know that the environment for miracles is faith.
When we read about the woman with the issue of blood in the book of Mark, it tells us that she had been suffering for twelve years. It also says that she spent everything she had on doctors, but no one was able to help her. The scriptures tell of her state of mind:
For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:28 NLT)
Once she touched Jesus’ robe, she was healed immediately. And Jesus said to her:
“…Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” (Mark 5:34 NLT)
Jesus told her that she was made well because of her faith. She believed that if she could just get access to Him, she would be healed.
Our faith is the ingredient that God uses.
Now this is tricky, because faith isn’t constant. One moment you might feel full of faith, the next moment, you might doubt if it is even possible. What you need to know is that you do not have to have perfected faith, or even a lot of faith, for God to work a miracle in your marriage.
The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you! (Luke 17:6)
Jesus said that we only need a little bit of faith to move the mountains in our lives. So, I am convinced that it is not the size of our faith, but how we use our faith that matters. Jesus didn’t just say that we need faith, he said to put that faith in motion by speaking it out. You see, faith is an action word. This is why the scripture says:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (Corinthians 5:7 NKJV)
Being stagnant and believing that Jesus will do something, is not faith. Faith is always moving. Faith says that even when I don’t see how this could possible turn around, I will walk in the confidence that it will. The woman with the issue of blood didn’t just stand in the crowd hoping that Jesus would heal her. She moved. She used the last of the faith that she had, struggling, probably exhausted and in pain, just to touch Jesus' clothes. She might not have had a lot of faith, but she put to work the faith that she had. She was healed because she put her faith into action.
Having the faith that God will heal your marriage is living your life in the confidence that He will.
So how do we walk this thing out?
By seeking to enlarge our faith.
For me, this was crucial. Every time I thought of the details of my situation, I would start to have feelings of hopelessness. I felt like things were too far gone, and there was no way that my marriage could be healed. I was not filled with the hope and faith that I needed, so I went to where I knew I could enlarge my faith.
The word of God enlarges faith.
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
I went right to the source. I begin studying the word of God, and listening to sermons to give myself a deeper understanding.
If your faith is low, put the word of God in you.
I remember the times when my faith was so low, that I listened to the word of God throughout my day just to keep myself from giving up. My mind was not strong enough to handle the situation. I needed God's thoughts to become my own.
We need to speak in faith
I don’t mean you should completely ignore the details of your situation, but what you say matters.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)
We reap what we sow. If you want your marriage to live, speak life instead of death.
For me, this was tough because my tendency was to base my decisions on facts. But, the facts will ALWAYS get in the way of your miracle. Always.
You can see the facts, but you must speak faith.
Although my marriage seemed like it wasn’t going to make it, I had to learn to never let that come out of my mouth. I had to learn to stop trash talking my husband and my marriage, because I decided I would only speak life. When my husband spoke negatively about our situation, I would respond that I was believing that God would heal our marriage.
We need to act in faith.
Remember, faith is always moving. Faith says that I believe that God will, and I put my full trust in that promise. I put all my weight on it.
Acting in faith is moving from a place of assurance that God will heal your marriage. This is being the wife that your husband needs even when he doesn’t deserve it. This is loving your husband even though at the moment he seems unlovable.
If I can be honest, this also sucks. It sucks because you have to make the decision to look past who your husband currently is, so that you can experience the man that God has called him to be.
This is a sacrifice.
And, let me just say this…yes, it is crazy. It is crazy to walking around your house speaking and acting in faith when all hell is breaking loose. It is crazy to feel the pain and neglect, but still honor your husband. This isn’t normal, and it definitely is not logical.
But, let me be clear.
Logic will not get you a miracle; only faith can do that.
You won’t always feel like speaking in faith, and acting in faith. There were times where I was so hurt and upset, that I spoke from that place. But, I needed God to work a miracle in my marriage. And, I realized that miracles always have a cost. And that cost is faith.
It literally takes faith to even begin to walk this journey. There were times where I was too upset to speak life, so I chose silence instead. I took baby steps. If I couldn’t speak life, I decided I would just keep my feelings to myself. Over time, God gave me the strength to take one more step, and then another. When I looked back, I realized that I was no longer taking baby steps, but I was walking by faith.
That’s all this faith journey is. It’s just baby steps. You make a decision to step out the boat, and before you know it, you're walking on water. With your eyes fixed on Jesus, you’ll stay afloat. His presence will hold you up.
Just take that first step.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I need a miracle. I need you to come into my marriage and do what only you can do. I ask that you would heal my marriage, and allow us to be a vessel for You to reach someone else. Enlarge my faith God. Remind me that your word holds the strength that I need each day. Help me to speak in faith, even when the facts don't line up. Show me how to act in faith, even when what I see doesn't add up. Teach me how to walk this out, and help me to keep my eyes fixed on you. I need you to lead me Father. I take my hands off the situation and I surrender it all to you. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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