Believing is Seeing: An Everyday Miracle Story

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Seeing is believing”?

We like to think we can trust what we see. Although today, AI (artificial intelligence) can create images and voices that look and sound like the actual person.

It makes you wonder, can you really believe something just because you saw it?

Recently, I was having dinner with friends. We were talking about the idea, “Seeing is believing.” Then one of my friends mentioned The Santa Claus movie and this quote, “Believing is seeing.” It took me a day to process the meaning of that statement. I started to realize that I see because I believe, not I believe because I saw. It’s the difference between accepting a statement on faith, or needing proof before we believe.

David vs. Goliath

As children, we learned the story of David and Goliath. It’s a story of God’s power to save.

David’s story with Goliath is a powerful example of believing is seeing. When David was a young man, his father called him and told him to take provisions to his brothers who were in the army facing a battle against the Philistines and the mighty Goliath.

Goliath was the Philistine champion. He was 9 feet, 9 inches tall—it’s hard to imagine a person that size. For 40 days, morning and evening, he mocked the Israelites and their God. But none of the Israelites were brave enough to fight him.

The Israelites saw the giant, and they were afraid. Because they did not believe, they could not see God’s power in the situation.

Then, David arrives at the camp. He hears Goliath’s words. He believes this giant is not a match for his God. He tells Saul, the king, that God delivered him from a lion and a bear and that he would deliver him from Goliath, too. Because David believed, he saw a great victory.

The Power of Belief

At Christmas, we believe that Jesus, the Son of God, was born as a baby. When we believe, we see Jesus for who he is.

Once we believe that the baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem and laid in a lowly manger, is the only begotten Son of God, we can see so much more. Because we believe, our eyes are opened, and we can see the works of God all around us. His miracles are everywhere when we believe in Jesus.

For example, because I believe:

I see the brilliant design of the universe as God’s creation, not chaos and randomness.

I see the messages God sends me every day, showing me how he is working day by day.

I see the baby in the manger is Jesus, I know He is the Son of God.

Do you believe today? What is God letting you see because you believe? 

You have probably read the stories in the New Testament about Jesus’s miracles. He healed the sick, made lame people walk, and even raised the dead.

If we believe, God will allow us to see a miracle happen before us.

Have you ever witnessed a miracle?

Miracles probably happen more often than we realize. But when you see a real-life miracle, you know Jesus changed everything.

What we believe deeply impacts how we see the world and if we can see God working in our day-to-day lives.

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles and others. Thomas (one of the apostles) heard about the resurrection and said he would not believe it unless he saw the hands and touched the nail prints. When Jesus appears to Thomas, He allows Thomas to see and touch the nailprints. In John 20:29, “Jesus said to him {Thomas}, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

A Real-Life Miracle Story

What I’m about to share is a real-life miracle that happened at Christmas. I believe it’s a Christmas miracle.

On November 30th, I received a phone call from my brother-in-law at about 12:45 pm. He said my sister had been in an accident; she might have been hit by a car. She was alone. A stranger had called him. He told me where the accident happened, and I immediately dropped everything and left to get there.

The ambulance had just left when I got there. But the police told me she was taken to a large trauma hospital (not the closest hospital). I immediately knew it was more than just a little parking lot accident.

A few days later, my sister told me what happened. She was walking to a store in a parking lot. It was the middle of the day. Before she realized what happened, she had been hit by a truck and left. She was unable to move or even make a phone call for help.

As she cried for help, people nearby stopped to help her. One lady held her hand, and another person called my sister’s husband for her.

Her injuries were extensive, and it took the hospital many hours to stabilize her. My family waited for nearly 7 hours in waiting rooms, anxious to hear if she was okay and what her injuries were.

Finally, we were able to see her. She was white as a ghost and had significant swelling in her arms and legs. It was difficult and heartbreaking to see her in this condition. I could only imagine it would be months of recovery before she would be able to do basic life tasks.

She wasn’t able to move due to the pain. She was in traction until they could do surgery. Both her legs were broken, her pelvis was crushed, and she had some neck and spine injuries. She was barely able to speak. She told me the pain was excruciating at the slightest movement.

Surgery was two days later. The surgeons repaired her legs and pelvis. When we saw her after the surgery, we were amazed at how much better she looked; her skin color improved. By Sunday, she was trying to watch a football game. One of the first things she said to us after her surgery was, “It was Jesus.”

Believing is Seeing

During the many hours of waiting, my family would say how thankful we were that my sister’s injuries were not worse. We understood that God was with her. He provided skilled surgeons, doctors and nurses, fast-acting paramedics, and kind people in the parking lot to help her.

Because we believed, we could see the hand of God even in this terrible situation.

You might say, Rachel, if you believe that God is in control of all things, why did He let this happen to your sister? Truthfully, it’s hard to understand God’s plan when bad things happen to us or our families. We live in a broken and fallen world with sin and where bad things happen, but God is with us. The promise of the gospel is that through Jesus, all things will be made right once more.

But until that day, we can look at things that happen to us, good and bad, and give God the praise for what He is doing and will do.

It’s been a little over 3 months since my sister’s accident. She slowly improved each day. She told us a few days ago, she was walking with a cane. Every step of the way, it’s been a miracle. 

Our lives are like a tapestry. God is weaving His story, and we know that everything works together for good.

When you believe, you can see it.