Picture this: a couple of believing Christians lock eyes as they arrive at a fresh realisation that Christ, their Saviour, has been entirely faithful, even in the midst of hopelessness. The story begins in Sri Lanka. A Twenty-six year old man buys a block of land and builds on it. Sometime later, unbeknown to him, on arrival home from time at sea, the block next to him is up for auction--the very next day! It is 5 P.M. and the banks are closed and he has no money for the 10 percent deposit he’d need to buy the land. Quite miraculously, at this late hour he finds the money, in what an unbeliever might call several strokes of luck, and the next day is able to successfully bid for the land. For those of Christian faith, this is miracle number one.
To cut a long story short, he then accepts a request by a local pastor to hold a church meeting at his house; it’s not long before he has problems with the local Buddhists for making a so-called racquet. The persecution begins. He later builds an open-walled shed on the spare block for the fledgling church... years later, the land nobody wanted is worth heaps as it’s so close to Colombo’s CBD; the fledgling church is now the thriving New Covenant Life Centre that features a seminary, as part of its three-storey structure, and has survived attacks and persecution from insurgents and radical extremists.[1] This is miracle number two; really a collection of miracles over the span of years.
This whole story was all about God’s deliverance in the midst of unrelenting persecution. In faith, this man simply stood meekly for the broader purposes and promises of God and as a result this veteran believer has seen many miracles and many brought to faith through the ministry he supported. Later, he was seen to be tested financially regarding his daughter’s education; the institution requiring £85,000 surety upfront--an amount totally beyond this man’s means. Another miraculous turn of events saw to this problem--mainly because this person was simply a faithful employee; miracle number three.
As I heard the story unfold I was fighting back tears of wonder and joy; in the song, Let the weak say, “I am strong,” there is the strong realisation for the believer that Jesus, and God the Father, kept their promises. Jesus died and rose again, keeping his promise. The Father, knowing from the beginning that humankind might corrupt itself, hatched the rescue plan to redeem us--he kept his promise to love us to the very bitter end. And so it was for this man talking to me; he kept his promise to God, and he continues to.
Hosanna, a Hebrew expression from Psalm 118:25, means “Save, we pray.” In Matthew 21, the writer describes the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the final week of his life. The people on Palm Sunday shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! ... Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! ... Hosanna in the highest!”[2] It is used as a cry of homage and glory. What wisdom these followers of Christ had in praising him--not knowing really that Jesus would become their Saviour only days later. And this sentiment is caught every time we experience the miracles of knowing, via personal experience, God’s revelation.
There are times, as the song says, when we ‘rise from waters deep, into the saving arms of God’--and not through anything on our account. It is him and only him. It is his grace and sovereign provision. The only thing we can do is cooperate with God’s will by being faithful. In the centre of pain and sorrow, God’s there propping us up, if we’ll allow him to!
In situations like the one described above, we are truly thankful to have seen Christ active in the saving and rescuing of us; more kept promises! The sharing of the inspirational stories of this man proved once again that miracles do happen when we refuse to doubt and simply believe. How powerful is a simple faith to believe God’s all-encompassing promises. And what such a reward it is to be able to say, ‘Can you believe it, we’re saved?!’ It is hardly believable that God would stoop so low to pick us up. We can just know that he is such an amazing God!
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Oh, there's miracle number four: this man's home is now a lovely residence for orphaned children.
Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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