Where are all the miracles?
Having just returned from our 10th trip to Cambodia, one of the first questions we are often asked is “did you see any miracles?” A fair question for sure.
However, our purpose for taking teams on these Transformation Tours is first and foremost to serve. Our purpose is not to come back with a ‘brag book’ of testimonies. We have friends in Phnom Penh with whom we have partnered for the last 12 years. We don’t go with ‘our’ program or agenda. We work with them to ascertain what would be the best use of resources in our time there.
Our partners, Koy and Reny Chhim, have faithfully answered God’s call on their lives to open schools in the poorest communities providing Christian based education from preschool to grade 6 whilst employing the government curriculum. Wherever they open a school they plant a church or home church where the families of the school children and others can come and learn about Jesus and grow in their faith. During our time there we issue anti-parasite medication and vitamins to adults and children in the villages we visit. We also issue school supplies to those in the schools operated by Cambodian Care, 3 of which are in Phnom Penh and another approximately 250 kms north of the capital in the Kratie province. There is often an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with these gentle, humble Cambodians.
On each and every trip we have seen many people healed, saved and transformed by the healing Presence of Jesus and this year was no exception. So where are the miracles?
To see children who 12 years ago were uneducated with no hope of attending school, now reading and writing fluently in two languages, completing maths problems, learning about science, history and other subjects is nothing short of a miracle. To witness schools where just 10 years ago, children were learning in overcrowded, primitive conditions but now are in a building which is neat tidy and more conducive to learning is another miracle.
Then again there was the 11 year old girl who, when we first encountered her around 7 years ago, was destined to a life of poverty. She was unable to walk with shrivelled legs and makeshift crutches, her mother having been told by the medical people there was nothing they could do for her, “she will never walk”. In Cambodia this undoubtedly meant she would never receive an education and therefore be destined to a life of begging. She received prayer all those years ago and it took around 10 months for her condition to improve. To see her walking unaided up and down the stairs of the three-story school building brought us to tears - another miracle.
One of the teachers in the school had had a worm infestation a few years ago and the worms had travelled to her brain. She had medication to kill the parasites however the infestation and medication had left her numb all down her left side which she had had for the past 18 months or so. The team prayed for her and the numbness completely disappeared!
Of course, this time too we witnessed many people healed of back pain, stomach disorders, blurred vision and a lady who numbness down one side. Also, a lady who walked in great pain with a walking stick made of PVC pipe, after prayer left without using her stick, to mention just a few. However, these healings were a result of inviting the Holy Spirit into each and every setting and trusting Jesus to do what only He can do…heal, restore and deliver. Jesus always backs up His Word. Oh, I almost forgot…one of our taxi drivers gave his life to Jesus as he dropped us at the hotel!
Mark 10:45 tells us “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.” So we can take a lesson from Jesus. We are to serve one another.
I recall someone saying to me a few years ago in our city: - “I’ve read some of the testimonies on your website but is there anything really remarkable?” I was somewhat puzzled by the question as just a cursory glance over the hundreds of testimonies, reveals many remarkable events in the lives of those whom Jesus touched. Two years of chronic diarrhoea healed in one prayer session at the Healing Rooms, all symptoms of PTSD gone, chronic high blood pressure restored to normal, kidney disease healed and so many more, I think are really remarkable.
We all love the ‘immediatelies’ and ‘suddenlies’ we read of in the Bible particularly in Mark’s gospel. However, in our experience healing is often a process and takes time. Of course we love miracles, have witnessed many (He’s ruined us for the mundane) and long to see more and more. Notwithstanding, we are the ones who ‘categorise’ miracles and indeed in our society, the word miracle is vastly overused especially in the sporting world. There is no greater miracle than someone being born again when they surrender their life to Jesus.
What we have found over 20 years is that as we continue in obedience, invite Holy Spirit into each and every situation, the ‘miracles’, however we define them, follow. Jesus put it this way “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matt 6:33. Yes I know Jesus was speaking about not worrying about our daily needs, however the principle still applies. We must first seek the ‘Miracle Worker’ not the miracles themselves just as we are to seek the Giver of the (spiritual) gifts and not the gifts themselves.
Let me encourage you to press into Jesus, the Saviour, Healer, Deliverer and Friend who will never let you down. Trust me, as you go searching, you’ll find miracles all around you.