The fruit of this will be beautiful. -Jesus 

During an intimate place with God this week, I was reminded and reformed in my thinking:

The opposition to our human desire for pain and heartache may cost us a front row seat to our own personal miracle.

Going through my prayer wall and reading cards from two and three years ago, suddenly, tears filled my eyes. Nearly every single one of them were answered in a way that surpassed what I had even asked. And the couple that hadn’t been fully answered yet, I know and see that He is still working in. So many were written in the midst of some of the most hopeless days and nights, but God heard my call, and He answered. And because of that, I know that I have witnessed and seen miracles. I wanted out of nearly every one of those situations when I wrote them. I wanted them to get better and to be fixed instantly. But what I didn’t realize was the work that God was about to do in the midst of them. Walking through the circumstances instead of around it, built a foundation stronger than ever with a faith that cannot be shaken.

-We want to see miracles, but we don’t want to have to endure the pain that it takes to see a miracle.

-We want to see the Red Sea being split before our eyes, but we aren’t willing to come face to face with the faith that it takes to trust God that He is actually going to split a sea and make a way for us.

-We want to walk on water with God, but we don’t want to take that first step out of the boat in order to take His hand.

I am guilty of shielding and protecting myself from pain and heartache more times than not- instead of embracing and accepting the miracles that are already in the works. But In all reality, shielding myself does in fact, sometimes protect me from the pain, but more times than not, it keeps me from the miracle.

I pray that I always recognize that He can see the whole picture, where I can only see what’s right in front of me. I pray that I have eyes that can see even in the darkest nights, that He is shining His ever sufficient light to guide me. I pray that I have a faith that trusts on the heart-wrenching days, and that the same faith is still strong on the not so heart-wrenching days. I pray that I can always embrace the tenderness that life hands us, believing that one day the ashes WILL be turned to beauty.

As we sat around a dinner table last week with a group of couples who all had incredible stories of redemption, I was reminded of the grace and growth in the storm, and the mercy and plans for the brighter days. We sat there stronger and we laughed harder… and at one point, I know each one of us thought we would never see a day such as this.

We have to be willing to go through the process of refinement. Diamonds in the rough start out just as that, rough. But when the refinement is finished, the diamond is flawless and perfect in His eyes. The process is beautiful and ever so faithful in building something inside of us that is embedded into our being.

So we must show up and expect the miracle. The Bible says, “Because she believed, I healed.” Some of the most powerful movements in the Bible come from the most powerful trials of the people- just like us and just like ours. So today, remember, faith doesn’t always make sense, but it does make miracles!