Do Miracles Still Happen?
Two and a half years ago my wife was driving home late one night from Petaluma, CA with our three children. They were traveling eastbound on highway 37, a two-lane road connecting Novato and Vallejo, near Sears Point. Suddenly, the driver’s side front tire blew at 60 mph, sending the vehicle into a tailspin. Striking the center-divide, our Chevy Suburban flipped, rolled, slid and came to an ominous halt upside-down on the freeway.
My wife called out to the kids from the front seat. They all three were hanging upside-down in their carseats like little bats in pajamas. They were awake, frightened but uninjured. Meljoné had the presence of mind to instruct them to unbuckle their harnesses and climb out of any one of the shattered windows of the vehicle. Bystanders came to the rescue and assisted them, including two smiling, young men who helped unbuckle their seatbelts and escort them to a safe area. Later, looking to thank them, they were nowhere to be found.
Meljoné crawled out as well only to discover blood streaming down her left arm. Her body was thrust against the driver’s side window as it slid across the pavement, ripping open her arm and exposing her tendon. When I arrived an ambulance was on scene. She had to be taken to a local hospital where they performed surgery to remove the glass from her arm and stitch her up.
It was a horrific accident. We were all shaken up, but it could have been a lot worse. Amazingly, my family walked away from the accident under their own power. It was miraculous!
Or was it?
Are miracles real or perceived? Are they acts of a Higher Power or convenient coincidences contrived in the minds of well-meaning, gullible people?
Surprisingly, science doesn’t rule out what we might consider a miracle.
We know that matter can be converted to energy. This is easy. Every time we enjoy a campfire, wood (matter) is being converted into energy (heat). But can energy be converted back into matter? Science says yes. While it would take an astronomical amount of energy to do so, it is theoretically possible that energy can be converted into matter.
This means, given the right amount of energy, doctors could grow fingers, toes, ears and organs if they had the technology and ability to harness that energy. This is beyond our current medical capabilities, but imagine the medical possibilities.
So, when my wife’s leg grew out on our first date while I prayed for her. When a deaf mute could hear and speak her name for the fist time at a prayer meeting in Lamin, Gambia. When three-month old Katie Metro’s organs came to life in Lodi, CA as we gathered around her hospital bed in prayer. It all could be coincidence, yes. It all could be explainable, sure. Or it all could be scientific.
Perhaps just enough universal power was released to make a leg grow out, cause deaf ears to open and bring a child back from death’s door. And what about those two smiling young men who assisted my children out of the wreckage only to vanish into the night air. Angels perhaps? Try to say otherwise to my kids.
Whether you are a scientist or an atheist, when you’ve seen too many of these coincidences you cannot rule out the God-factor. Given the evidence, it would be foolish and unscientific for me not to consider that maybe there is an all-powerful, universal God who sends angels and works miracles on our behalf.
Jeff Rostocil travels full-time as a Kingdom communicator speaking to adults and youth nationally and internationally. Jeff has written two books: Unshakable: Living Your Life Anchored To God’s Kingdom (2009) and Bulletproof: Accessing The Favor And Protection Of God In The Secret Place (2013). He founded SoleQuest International in 2002 and holds a masters degree through Wagner Leadership Institute. He and his wife Meljoné live in the San Francisco Bay Area with their three children.
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