God Still Works Miracles

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps 46:1 NIV

 If your life always runs smoothly and successfully, you can hardly understand this Bible text. You don't need a miracle until you need a miracle.

You don't need God's provision until you need provision.

In early 1994, I lost my job. I hadn't failed, but they no longer needed some language teachers, and I was out of a job.

Just at that time, I had met a dear woman who has now been my wonderful wife of 29 years. I was in a tight spot. I had some money in the bank and I could only find a few hours of temporary work at first. But every time my money ran out, I got enough temp work to barely survive.

It got better step by step. Almost two years later I got married, but I was by no means wealthy. On the contrary. But a year later, I got my job back. A district judge ruled that my dismissal was unjust. I got $20,000 in compensation. Then I was able to buy my first computer.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps 46:1 NIV

Then we were told we could apply for a promotion, but I thought I had no chance. An older colleague told me I should try.

I spent two sleepless nights writing my application, still handwritten at the time. Then I had my application typed up and sent it by fax. The last page arrived at one minute to five on a Friday afternoon, the absolute deadline.

I was amazed when I got the promotion. I got $5000 more per year.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps 46:1 NIV

What is your problem?

I had a cancer diagnosis almost three years ago. I prayed earnestly and I received an assurance from the Holy Spirit that God would heal me, without radiation therapy. A year ago I got the good news. In September 2020 I had an MRI scan. No trace of tumours.

I had regular blood tests in the meantime. I'm not a spiritual fool. But the findings were not alarming and finally the confirmation came. God was reliable and faithful.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps 46:1 NIV

It was too late to brake. She could not avoid a collision. Then she felt a terrible heat. The vehicle drove through her car without making any noise, without causing any damage. It was like something out of a fantasy film.

I know the woman very well. This really happened.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps 46:1 NIV

God's Plan for your Life

Are you in an impossible situation, and you can’t see a way out? In spite of everything, there is a good, all-powerful God who loves you with all his heart.

The 57th Psalm is a prayer by David, who was chosen by God to be the next king of Israel.

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. Ps 57:1 NIV

King Saul was consumed with jealousy and murderous rage. David was surrounded by Saul and his soldiers and took refuge in a cave. David had no help but God.

He cried out with all his heart, but not loudly. He desperately needed help.

If you are being interrogated by the police or a mean boss, you can’t pray out loud but God hears the cry of your heart.

He was crying out for mercy. God's help is always grace, and God's mercy and grace is always there for you because He loves you.

God answered this prayer. David survived and became king.

God had a plan for David to become king.

 You may be overwhelmed with problems right now. God has a good plan for your life. He doesn't just want to help you through this crisis. He has a good future for you.

I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfil his purpose for me. Ps 57:2 NLT

God Wants to Protect You

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armour and protection. Psalm 91:4 NLT

As a farmer walked through his yard, he found a dead chicken. It was badly injured, obviously killed by a bird of prey. When he picked up the chicken, four chicks were still alive. The mother died saving her chicks.

When you look around, you see a world coming apart at the seams. Who tore this world apart? God didn't do it.

We can blame the devil, but that is only half-truth. We all need to confess that we have gone wrong in some way. We need God's forgiveness so that we do not suffer eternally separated from God and His goodness after we die.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT

There are many Christians who believe this. They hope to go to heaven after they die, but their life on earth is only a shadow of the supernatural adventure with God that we see in the Bible.

God wants us to go deeper into his love.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 NLT

You can experience God's personal love in this way. But how?

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7–8 NLT

When you learn to experience God's kind and gentle love, you must expect attacks from the enemy of your soul, but if you live in close friendship with Jesus you can have His supernatural protection.

We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods.

This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. Psalm 91:1–2 The Living Bible

I know a woman who is familiar with God's tender love. As she was driving one day, God saved her from certain death.

It was too late to stop. She could not avoid a collision. Then she felt a terrible heat. The vehicle drove through her car without making any noise, without causing any damage. It was like something out of a Science Fiction movie.

I know this woman well. It is a true story.

God's Protection in War and Crisis

 1944 was a terrible time in Germany. The war was all but lost, but the Nazis were still in power. British and American air raids became increasingly fierce. Day and night, many thousands of civilians were killed.

During this traumatic time, a German preacher, Hermann Zaiss, lived in Ohligs, a suburb of Wuppertal. He had suffered much in his life.

During the First World War he was a prisoner of war for 4 years.  Then he served as an evangelist in Germany, but he was persecuted by Christians because he was a Pentecostal. Then his wife became mentally ill, and chronically psychotic.

His heart was broken. He could not bear it any more. He decided to turn away from God. He still believed in God, but he told God he wanted nothing more to do with Him.

I did just that, and I told God, "If you are alive and have an interest in me and your love for me is so great, come and call me again after 20 years!"

Schneider, Peter. Lahme tanzen unter der Kanzel: Zeichen und Wunder in den Gottesdiensten von Hermann Zaiss (German Edition) . Asaph Verlag. Kindle Edition.
(Lame men dancing under the pulpit: signs and wonders in the services of Hermann Zaiss)

He divorced his mentally ill wife, became very successful as an entrepreneur and remarried.

Then came the terrible bombing raids in Germany. Everyone was gripped by panic and despair.

Already in 1939, his wife Clara had found her way to God through prayer for their seriously ill daughter. God had healed her daughter and she pleaded with her husband again and again to take up his ministry again and help the suffering people.

On 22 July 1944, on the very day when his twenty years away from God were over, Hermann and Clara knelt down in the bombed Protestant church of Ohligs and prayed: "Lord, if you want us again, here we are." He received a clear commission from God to proclaim the gospel radically, without any compromise.

Schneider, Peter. Lahme tanzen unter der Kanzel: Zeichen und Wunder in den Gottesdiensten von Hermann Zaiss (German Edition) . Asaph Verlag. Kindle Edition.
(Lame men dancing under the pulpit: signs and wonders in the services of Hermann Zaiss)

Hermann started a home group and God blessed this small beginning. A great many desperate neighbours sought God's help.

The meetings grew larger. They prayed together and trusted God to protect them from the bombs.

In November 1944, nearby Solingen was bombed and thousands were killed. Then Hermann Zaiss heard on the radio that the bombers were on their way to his neighbourhood in Ohligs. He went into the garden and prayed for protection and peace.

Shortly afterwards he heard again on the radio that the bombers had turned away for unknown reasons.

On the British side there were also faithful Christians praying for protection.

Colonel Whittlesey was the commander of a British regiment in the Second World War. He was a Christian. He ordered his soldiers to recite Psalm 91 every day. The regiment was in fierce fighting for five years and not a single man was killed.

Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Psalm 91:7 NLT

Now we are again in a life-threatening crisis. Many are dying in India, in Brazil but also in North America and Europe. Many are terrified of the virus and others dread the vaccine.

If God protected many German civilians from bombing during the war and also saved British soldiers, you can be sure that he can also help you at this time and wants to save you.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. Ps 91:1–3 NKJV

For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. Psalm 91:3 NLT

He Cares for You

 You may feel wounded and torn. Sometimes you don't know clearly why you feel down, but there is someone who sees and knows, and he is for you, not against you.

One of the best loved passages in the Bible is the Shepherd Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Ps 23:1–3 NIV84

How often are your feelings torn and confused, and you don’t clearly understand why. But God understands, and he wants to heal the wounds in your heart.

He wants to guide you in the way that is best for you, but if you feel confused, and you are wandering in a fog of discouragement, you can’t see clearly which way to go.

When you go through dark places, you can’t see the light. How can you know which way to go when you can’t see clearly?

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NIV84

The Middle Eastern shepherds had a rod, or a club, to ward off wild animals, and a staff to lift up sheep which were stuck and couldn’t get up by themselves.

When you can’t see the way forward, trust the Good Shepherd of your soul.

God sent His eternal Son to be the Good Shepherd for your soul.

Before he became a king and a prophet, David was a shepherd himself. He was a humble farmworker, but he knew God as his Shepherd.

“The LORD is my Shepherd.”

When Jesus preached to the Jews, He said boldly, that He was the Good Shepherd, the Lord and God of David.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14–15 NIV84

When you are wounded and upset, and you can’t see clearly, ask Jesus to pour out His healing Holy Spirit in your wounds.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5 NIV84

When the sheep had cuts and scratches, the shepherd would rub soothing oil into the wounds. 

Rest in the presence of God and ask Him to anoint your head with the healing and calming presence of His loving Spirit. Invite Him to pour His oil into your cuts and wounds.

If you trust Jesus with your life, you can be sure His loving care and mercy will never be taken away.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Psalm 23:6 NKJV