Evidence of a
Miracle
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things
not seen."
-- (Hebrews 11:1)
Don't ever
short-circuit a miracle by trying to see it in progress! So
many believers do
that. They'll lay hands on someone and pray for
healing or deliverance and
then, when they don't see any immediate,
outward change take place, they'll
withdraw their faith and assume
nothing happened.
The Lord taught me
an unforgettable lesson about that once when I was in
Jamaica. I was
preaching to a group of about 150 people in a church that
was lighted only by
a single kerosene lantern. It was so dark I couldn't
see anyone's face. All I
could see was my Bible and the feet of the man
right in front of
me.
Suddenly I realized that I'd always depended on the facial
expressions
of the people to whom I was preaching to determine how my sermon
was
being received. Knowing what I did about faith, I knew that
was
dangerous. So I made a quality decision at that moment never to
preach
another sermon except by faith. I would not be swayed by the
expressions
of people.
Before that series of meetings was over, I saw
just how important that
decision could be. The Jamaicans, who tend to show
very little
expression anyway, sat through every sermon without any outward
reaction
at all.
One lady was completely healed of blindness during
one of those
meetings. She never let on that anything had taken place. She
was almost
rigid when she found me outside and said simply, "Brother
Copeland, I
was blind, but now I can see. Thank you." That was all! A miracle
had
taken place, and by watching, you wouldn't have been able to
tell
anything had happened at all.
Next time you're tempted to
evaluate what God is doing by the looks of
things, don't do it. Remember
instead that it is faith, not appearances,
that makes miracles happen. It's
the only real evidence that you need!
-- Kenneth
Copeland
SCRIPTURE READING: Hebrews 11:1-13
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