There’s a lot to be said about the miracles of Jesus, and that’s putting it rather lightly. I could recount the many miracles He performed while in His mortal ministry, but that isn’t my focus. I want to focus on how you can have His miracles in your life.
In his conference talk “Holiness to the Lord in Everyday Life”, Elder Gong stated that, “Holiness sets things apart for a sacred purpose. But it also invites us to infuse daily living with the sacred.”
Miracles are a sacred thing. Preparing for them and receiving them in our daily lives is a sacred and often deeply personal experience. When Jesus healed the blind and the leper, it was miraculous at that time, and indeed still today. However, to that individual it was an all encompassing event that shifted their life and the way they lived. So it is for each of us with the miracles that we receive.
President Nelson gave a talk called “The Power of Spiritual Momentum” in which he gave us 5 steps on how to build and maintain spiritual momentum. One of those steps was to expect miracles. He counseled us to “Do the spiritual work to seek miracles.” So how do we seek and prepare for miracles?
While studying Joshua in Come Follow Me a couple of years ago, I came across the pattern we are meant to follow to answer this question.
In these chapters the Lord is instructing Joshua what he must do to lead the people across the river Jordan.
- In Joshua 1:8 we are told to meditate on what miracle you are seeking;
The verse says “but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
We are meant to not only read and study the scriptures, but also to meditate upon them. To me, this means to think upon them deeply and intently. They are not meant to be a small quickly done part of our day. They are meant to seep into us and nourish our soul.
- In Joshua 3:3, We are told we meant to go after the miracle
The verse says “And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests and the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
We are not meant to sit and wait for a miracle to occur in our lives. There will be things we need to do along the way. Promptings we need to follow and direction from the Lord that will need to be acted upon so that we are prepared to receive the miracle when it happens.
- Joshua 3:4 tells us, We are to let God lead, for [We] have not passed this way before
The verse is speaking of the Ark of the Covenant that the Children of Israel were commanded to follow. “Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.”
We must know who to follow because we have not passed this way before, but the Lord has. The gift of the Holy Ghost which we receive when we are baptized is what we are meant to listen to and follow direction from. We do not have something physical to follow as the Children of Israel did but we do have something powerful and true to follow when we choose to follow what the Holy Ghost tells us. We need to “go after it” in order to prepare ourselves for the miracles that the Lord has in store for each of our lives.
- Joshua 3:5 instructs that we are to sanctify [ourselves] daily through daily rituals to make [ourselves] holy
The verse says “And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves” In the footnotes of the scriptures it says that this means to make yourselves clean, holy, by ritual washings and proper behavior.
What are your daily rituals that cleanse you and bring you close to your Savior and in tune with the Holy Ghost? Do you do them daily? Whether it is prayer, personal scripture study, daily repentance, or simply a time when you can commune with the Spirit, we all need to do things daily to sanctify ourselves. When we consecrate what we do to the Lord and follow the Holy Ghost’s direction in accomplishing what we do, we sanctify ourselves. When we sanctify ourselves, we are prepared for the next part of the process.
- Joshua 3:5 continues, We must remember that tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you
In continuation of verse 5, after the people are told to sanctify themselves they are then told “for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Once we sanctify ourselves, our spiritual eyes are opened and we can see the wonders that the Lord is currently doing in our lives. We can recognize all of the tender mercies He gives us and humble ourselves with gratitude to Him.
I have a bowl that sits in my living room that has the record of all of the personal miracles and tender mercies that I recognize that the Lord has done in my life. This serves as a reminder of what blessings He has bestowed and that more will come.
- Joshua 3:7 states, We must remember that “I will magnify thee – I will enlarge you to meet what I have asked of thee”
The verse says “And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee.”
We may not be called as prophet, but the Lord will still magnify us in the things He has called and asked us to do. We will know that He is with us when we put forth our imperfect efforts to do the things that He has asked us to do. He will make our ability to give effort to that cause greater and make the effort we give bear fruit that we could not foresee or achieve on our own.
- Joshua 3:8 says, We must remember to Stand Still
The verse says “And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.”
When we are at the brink, the edge of what we know to do, when we have done all that has been asked, stand still. Know that the Lord is in control, that though the waters rage and the winds blow in your life you can stand still and feel His peace.
- Joshua 3:10 tells us, We must remember “I will not fail to deliver you.”
The verse says “And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Cannaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.”
The Lord didn’t just say all of the people He named them to emphasize the size of the task, I think. He will without fail change who you are, drive out your anger, despair, heartache, sorrow. He will without fail help you endure things that you don’t think you can endure. He will without fail heal the broken hearted. He will without fail…. Fill in your personal challenge, trial, or heartache and He will not fail you.
- Joshua 3:15 instructs us,We must Step into the River – Do it! Act!
The verse says “And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for the Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
They did it! They walked to the edge of the Jordan and when they were told to step into the river before the waters parted and the ground was dried, they did it!!! Just as it was for them, so it is for us. We must go to the edge and step into the river believing the Lord will do as He has said and part the waters for us, and dry the ground. Our action, our faith and the power of that faith are required for the miracle to be accomplished. We must first get our feet wet. Remember He will not fail us.
- Joshua 3:16-17 states, It is then that The miracle occurs – the water is rushed up and the ground is dry
The verse says 16 “That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city of Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea failed and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.”
17 “And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.”
Not only did the Lord part the waters and dry the ground but He also cut off any form of attack by those who would have. I have found that the times I see the Lord the most in my life I can often see how one event or circumstance is used in a number of ways by the Lord to improve me, my life, or the direction it is headed in. The Lord will truly turn all things to our good in many ways, miracles included.
- In Joshua 4:2-7 we are told, We must have Gratitude and Remembrance – 12 stones taken from the middle of the river to be a physical reminder and commemoration of the miracle.
The verses say 2 “Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man.”
3 “And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.”
4 “Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:”
5 “And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of tribes of the children of Israel:”
6 “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye these stones?”
7 “Then shall ye answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.”
We are not asked to gather 12 boulders from the middle of a river that the Lord has parted for us. We are asked to be grateful and to show that gratitude to the Lord. Here it is shown with a memorial that will cause it to be taught to future generations, In Judges Deborah spends a whole chapter singing her gratitude to the Lord. I think part of showing gratitude to the Lord is remembering the miracles He has done in our lives, recording them and sharing them with our children and loved ones so that they too may learn from the miracles the Lord has already worked. Recording the miracles that the Lord works in your life also helps us through the hard times that are to come in our lives. They help us remember to turn to the Lord, and what He has done in the past to help us through difficult times. Be grateful and remember.
The miracles of Jesus Christ were recorded for us. They were meant to instruct, encourage, and strengthen us in the times that we would face on our mortal journey. They were meant to remind us that what He did for others He would and does do for us.
His miracles in our daily lives encompass the small and personal and also the great ones like the atonement. All are miracles. All are meant to help and support us in our journey through mortality. All show His love for us.
I encourage you to seek and prepare for the miracles you need in your life, and to recognize and record the ones that have already occurred. Jesus Christ has and will work miracles for you. I testify that I have seen miracles occur in my life and know that you can too.
