An Unusual Miracle

An Unusual Miracle

“And God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul.”  Acts 19:11

We live in a 2-story house. There is an air-conditioning unit for upstairs and one for downstairs. Last year our upstairs unit went out and had to be replaced. This was an expensive undertaking and beyond our means at the time, and we were grateful for the Lord’s merciful provision that came when we needed it.

Then this past June the downstairs unit quit working. I was at my desk upstairs when Laurel and our daughter Mary called up to me saying it was getting hot downstairs. We discovered there was no cold air coming through the vents.

We had two different Heating and Air technicians look at it. The diagnosis was that the Freon had leaked out, and that the unit needed to be replaced. That would be a huge expense. We did not have the funds to replace it. The service tech, therefore, informed us that we could get a temporary repair that would cost about $1900, but which would not have any guarantee beyond another year. We did not have the money even for the temporary fix.

So we began the summer with family and friends downstairs having to suffer and endure the heat. We were advised to run the air-conditioning upstairs, but only the fan downstairs. The fan would help circulate the air. But of course, it was circulating hot air, especially on these 90 degree summer days.

It became a regular part of our daily prayer life to ask the Lord for provision so we could get that air-conditioner fixed. Then this past weekend we experienced a miracle, an unusual miracle. Laurel went downstairs to the kitchen Monday morning and noticed that the air-conditioner was running on “fan” as usual, and the downstairs was hot, as usual.  She went back upstairs for a while and later returned downstairs to find that the air-conditioner was turned to “on” and that the house was cooling.  She made inquiry into who had turned the air-conditioner on and found that no one had touched it.  Laurel, our daughters Mary and Claire, and I were in the house, and not one of us had touched it. Now it was turned on and cooling the house better than it had before.

It was a miracle. “Someone” had fixed the air-conditioner. We had gone to bed the night before with it hot and running on “fan.” Now it was filled with Freon, turned “on,” and working better than ever and cooling the whole downstairs. We have been enjoying the cool house this week and thanking the Lord for his mercy and kindness to us in this matter. We acknowledge Him and give Him the glory. May this be to the praise of the glory of His grace.

The early Christians were accustomed to God’s intimate and miraculous presence among them. It was normal for them to witness lives changed by the power of God, healings, supernatural prophetic words, casting out demons, etc… But they also experienced what the Bible calls unusual, extraordinary, or special miracles. At Jesus’ instructions the disciples found a coin the mouth of a fish. He multiplied food. Paul shook a viper off of his hand and was unhurt. Prison doors opened for the apostles and chains fell off their hands and feet. Philip was caught away by the Holy Spirit and moved instantly from one location to another.

I heard a missionary share how he had been protected by angels sent from God to watch over him one night when he was travelling alone and followed by thieves who had planned to rob and kill him. One of them later asked him, “Who were those large, armed men who stood around your camp that night?”

There are other unusual and extraordinary miracles throughout the Bible: miracles of food, provision, protection, supernatural guidance, and healings. We also are entering unusual and difficult times in our nation. I believe we will once again need God’s active presence and help as we navigate the troubled waters in our society. As the darkness grows, so will the glory of God upon His people. These are days in which to reach out to God and expect Him to fulfill Jesus’ promises to manifest Himself, be with us, work with us, and confirm His word with signs following.