If you were to ask 100 people if they believed in miracles, you would probably get some firm yeses and nos, but the most frequent answer would most likely be, "I'd like to." Most people like the idea of something impossibly wonderful happening to them when they expect it least and need it most, but they figure it probably never will. They either take an if-it-happens-it-happens approach, or they think they're too bad or that their lives and problems are too insignificant to warrant supernatural intervention. The sad thing is, as long as those people don't expect miracles, they probably won't experience the miracles they could if they understood how miracles work and did their part.

Yes, there are cases where impossibly wonderful things happen to people with seemingly no effort or through no will of their own.--A stranger appears out of nowhere to warn of impending danger; a toddler is lost in a blizzard, wandering helplessly and freezing, when suddenly she comes to a house and is safe. But most miracles, believe it or not, come to those who make them happen. They are the result of someone's faith in a loving, caring, interactive God for whom nothing is impossible.

"Okay," you may say, "so miracles are a result of faith. That doesn't help me, because I don't have that kind of faith." Well, you can have that kind of faith--anyone can--and it's not as hard as you might imagine. In fact, faith is a gift. It's not something you have to try to work up or earn through your own goodness. It's a gift from your loving heavenly Father who is just waiting for you to reach out and receive it so He can begin working miracles for you.

Do miracles happen? I pray this issue of Activated makes a believer--and a receiver--out of you!

Keith Phillips
For the Activated Family