Joshua 4:21-23 “Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.”
The stones that Israel was instructed to gather were obtained from the middle of the Jordan river. They were specifically told to collect twelve large stones from the middle of the riverbed, where the priests were standing, as the nation crossed over on dry ground.
This event was reminiscent of the miracle of parting the Red Sea, but it was occurring for a new generation of Israelites. They had heard about the miraculous crossing of their fathers and now they were experiencing their own miracle by crossing the Jordan river.
God instructed Joshua to use these stones as a monument to commemorate the miracle that He had performed for them and to serve as a source of encouragement and challenge for future generations.
This is the impact that a personal ‘miracle book’ will have in your life as well. A miracle book serves as a record of the goodness of God in our lives. It becomes a collection of our own stones of remembrance, if you like.
The first step in creating your own miracle book is to be able to recognize every miracle that God performs in your life. This is what Joshua did after Israel crossed the Jordan River. It is important to document every miracle because it is easy to forget even the wonderful things that God does if we don’t write them down.
However, it is not necessary to wait for only the big miracles. Start by recording the everyday moments, events, and circumstances where you see God working. Begin to make connections between what you pray for and what is happening around you. This will allow you to see God in new and exciting ways.
When documenting every miracle, don’t worry about using perfect sentence structure or grammar. Simply jot down the date, time, and significant events where you see God displaying His goodness in your life. Be honest with Him about your struggles and desires.
Your miracle book will become a spiritual journal that logs God’s activity for future generations. It will make your faith dynamic and impact the lives of your children and grandchildren. As the Psalmist said:
Psalm 78:4-7 “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about His power and His mighty wonders… so the next generation might know them – even the children not yet born – and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.”
Once you have created your miracle book, you need to regularly reflect on every miracle. Don’t just document it and forget about it. Reflect on it in your mind and share it with your family. Go back an read your old entries in the book and praise God for His faithfulness to you.
There is tremendous power in reviewing what God has done in our lives, as mentioned in Psalm 42:6 (MSG), “When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of You.” When you view your life through the lens of God’s Word and His activity, even in difficult times, His goodness will come into focus.
The final challenge is to embrace every miracle. God gives us miracles in His own way and on His own timeline. If we are attentive and open our eyes, we will see the miracles happening in our lives today. We will begin to recognize the miracles hidden within our pain.
So, are you ready to start your own miracle book?