Sometimes God astonishes us with the miracles He works in our presence, and at other times He chooses to work miracles more quietly through us.  He lets us struggle a little bit, and we have to work through our circumstances with Him.

In the gospel lesson from Sunday’s worship service, Jesus calms the storm miraculously.  The waters in an instant go from a furious squall to completely still.  The disciples are so terrified and astonished that they ask themselves, “Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

I take encouragement from that story, knowing it is the storms of life that give us the opportunity to be absolutely shocked and awed by the power of God.  We want things to stay calm, the waters to be smooth like glass, but when God shakes things up, that’s when He can absolutely thrill us.

“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”  (Psalm 77:14)

But there are other times when God chooses differently.  He doesn’t remove the obstacle from our lives.  He chooses to help us climb over it.

“By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.”  (Psalm 18:29)

He enables us to do the work to get over that wall.  When God calls us to something, or calls us to overcome something, He always gives us the ability to do so.  And I love that this verse tells us that He not only helps us get over the wall, but He helps us leap over it.  The Oxford dictionary defines the verb to leap as “to jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great force”.

To leap over a wall also sounds like a pretty thrilling miracle to me.

Lord, you who do great and unsearchable things, wonders without number, help us to choose to have more passion and perseverance for the things you are calling us to do, than fear and doubt over our current circumstances.  Amen.