Miracle

Last night I had the privilege of witnessing a miracle in motion. There are surely many ways to define what a miracle is, but to me it's no less than God moving against what we would consider natural and rational, bending the rules so to speak. And why shouldn't He since He made the rules to begin with?

A gentleman at my church, a man of only 44 years, collapsed at his childrens' baseball game with what appears to be a massive heart attack. Those who reached him first found a man whose life was drained from his body, unresponsive, pulseless, not breathing. But not hopeless.

There were medical personnel at that ball field, at least 3 nurses as a matter of fact. CPR was started almost instantly and out of nowhere an AED defibrillator device was produced. When the paramedics arrived his airway was already secured and they proceeded to give him the necessary medications and electrical shocks to his heart that eventually kick-started it back to beating on its own.

I used to work at a paramedic, responding to those same life and death calls. And I can testify firsthand that men and women rarely recover from these situations. As good as CPR and defibrillation can be, many people just don't revive from these incidents. Yet I know one who did. Against the odds, by the time this man was transferred from the local hospital to a larger, specialized hospital, his heart was beating at a relatively normal rhythm, his blood pressure was within standard limits, and his oxygen levels were better than mine. This, my friends, is a miracle.

But let me share with you another miracle that happened last night. As word quickly spread of this man's situation, people began to gather and pray. Some rushed to the hospital as I did to comfort and pray with the family while others stopped where they were and cried out to God from their cars and living rooms. By the time the hospital transfer was complete the waiting room was so filled with members of the body of Christ that you would have thought someone was about to pass out free hams. And the prayers did not stop - they continued throughout the night.

I describe this as a miracle because for reasons that we may never fully understand, the God of the universe called people to Him into a radical relationship that is both intimate and real. Jesus Christ offered Himself up for mankind to seal that relationship and then He rose from the grave to ensure that this relationship would last forever. And now as I was gathered with dozens and dozens of other believers, conversation was occurring between us and God and God was listening. There may have been some doubters in that room last night but they had no way of voicing their dissent. God was simply overshadowing the place.

God moves us and in us, but He is also moved when His people pray. What to us seems to be beyond incredible is to Him just a drop in the bucket that He created. We don't need miracles to believe in the power of God, yet when they do occur by His hand it strengthens us all the more and gives us hope that otherwise we might not have. Continue to pray for Wayne Macemore that this miracle would continue to sustain him.