When I was a boy, summertime would often find me swimming in the Lehigh river with my friends. On more than one occasion, we tried to build a dam to stop the river’s flow. Crazy, right? But when you’re ten years old and bored, you just find stuff to do.

We did have some success as we piled rocks against the shallow shoreline. It was pretty impressive to watch as our efforts redirected the flow of the mighty river. But our sense of accomplishment only went so far. As we placed rocks further out into the river, the strong current would sweep them away.

Sometimes our efforts would change the flow of the river — and sometimes our efforts would be washed away by something bigger than us. There is an important faith lesson in there, but first let’s take a closer look at how and when faith made a difference in the Scriptures.

The gospels record several occasions when Jesus healed people because of their faith. In other words, they placed their faith-rocks in the river of life and the current was redirected:

• The woman with a blood disorder in Mark 5:34.
• The ten people suffering from leprosy in Luke 10:17.

There are also examples of Jesus healing people because of someone else’s faith. Again, their faith-rocks made the difference:

• The four men with a paralyzed friend in Luke 5:17-26
• The centurion with a paralyzed servant in Matthew 8:5-13

And sometimes Jesus didn’t do miracles because of a lack of faith, like in His home town of Nazareth in Matthew 13:53-58. They should have put their faith-rocks into the river. They didn’t, and they missed out on some awesome miracles.

Without a doubt, faith plays a role in miracles, but not always in the way we expect. There are two powerful examples of faith that did not result in the miracle being sought:

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus pleaded with God to let Him out of the brutality of the crucifixion. He agonized in prayer, fully believing that God could do it. He threw His faith-rocks into the river and they were washed away in the deep current of God’s redemptive will. God said no. See Matthew 26:36-46.

Paul the Apostle pleaded with God to remove the thorn in his flesh. Paul also agonized in prayer, fully believing that God could do it. His faith-rocks were also swept away. God said no. See II Corinthians 12:1-10.

What Jesus and Paul both experienced was the deep and unchangeable current of God’s redemptive will. Faith always results in a miracle. Sometimes it’s the miracle we want — and sometimes it’s the miracle we become.

After God said no, Jesus got up and went to meet His betrayer. In doing so, Jesus expressed His unwavering faith through obedience and allowed God’s power to be put on full display. He became the miracle. Imagine what would have happened if God had said yes to Jesus’ prayer. I am eternally grateful that God said no — because a greater redemptive miracle was accomplished through the crucifixion and the resurrection. And to that, I say hallelujah!

After God said no, Paul’s unwavering faith allowed God’s power to be displayed through his weakness — and he went on to write nearly one-third of the New Testament. He became the miracle. I can’t even imagine the loss to the Holy Scriptures had God said yes to Paul’s prayer. I am eternally grateful that God said no — because a greater redemptive miracle was accomplished. And to that, I say Hallelujah!

Faith always results in a miracle. Sometimes we throw our faith-rocks into the shallows and it changes the course of events and the miracle we are seeking is granted. At other times, we throw our faith-rocks into the depths and the current of God’s redemptive will washes them away — revealing an even greater redemptive miracle through us. Regardless, our faith always results in a miracle.

God loves to say yes to His children. In fact, He does so a hundred times a day. But every now and then God will say no to you. When He does, be assured that He is accomplishing something far more powerful and redemptive then anything you can imagine – and your unwavering faith in the midst of suffering will allow you to become the miracle.

There is so much more to say — so let’s continue the conversation in next week’s article.