Do you ever think that if you actually saw a miracle, sign, or wonder that it would change your life forever?

Think about the parents of the guy born blind, the ones who were more concerned about their standing with the Pharisees and their acceptance in the synagogue . . . than their son receiving his sight . . . Were they in the crowd that day when Jesus stood before Pilot, crying, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

You could say that’s crazy, but is it? The fact is a miracle, a sign, or a wonder won’t keep you if it doesn’t change you on the inside.

Take Balaam, he was hired by the enemy to come curse God’s people. On his way, “He was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” (2Pet 2:16 ESV) Yes, this miracle got Balaam’s attention. Yes, it moved him to speak the truth at the risk of the enemy’s wrath, but it didn’t change him on the inside because he loved money and prestige more. And I paraphrase: “Listen oh king, I can’t curse them, but I tell you what . . . send your women out to seduce their men . . . Then their God will have to curse them because He hates sin.” And that’s exactly what happened. God did bring judgment on the evildoers but at the end of the day, Balaam died in the battle because he chose the wrong side. What good did his earthy rewards do him then?

How about Joseph? God gave him dreams. These dreams impacted his life to such an extent that even when everything started to fall apart, he still believed God. Why? Because God used the dreams to change him on the inside. Even when he was seduced, day by day, by Potiphar’s young and beautiful wife, he cherished and guarded his integrity. Though they hurt his feet with fetters, and he had to live under the cruel reality of an Egyptian prison he held to the hope that God would fulfill his word.

One man, Balaam, technically obeyed and prophesied the Word of the Lord, yet in secret, he undermined God’s will and ended up hurting a lot of people. The other man, Joseph, believed God to the hurting of his own flesh, which resulted in the saving of an entire nation from famine, including his family and the brothers who betrayed him.

Oh, that God’s desire would become our desire. That we wouldn’t make decisions by what others think of us or how it would benefit us here and now. That we would see God’s purpose goes further than our temporal comfort and prosperity.

If Jesus hasn’t impacted your life in such a way that every choice you make, every action you take, doesn’t include His will for your life—Pray and ask Jesus to transform your heart that He becomes the lasting ‘sign and wonder’ that will change your life forever!  

Arleen is the author of The Painter
Their Lives Were All But Destroyed…
Her Paintings Are About To Change Everything
Adventure, mystery, and a touch of romance!