I love stories. I enjoy reading them, watching them in videos, and hearing them from people. I don't really know why I enjoy stories so much. Maybe it's because I grew up with people reading them to me. Maybe it's because they take me on new adventures. Or, maybe it is a combination of reasons.
Now that I am a teacher I read many stories to students. The students love hearing the stories. However, I've found that there is one genre of stories that students enjoy hearing a lot: fairy tales. I also like hearing fairy tales. I am talking about the "and they all lived happily ever after" ones not the gross ones. Why is it that we enjoy fairy tales so much?
I think there are a few reasons we enjoy fairy tales. One is the fact that the characters "All live happily ever after." We know that problems happen in the story but we also know it will all turn out alright. Another reason is the stories are not real. We get tired of reality and how nothing seems to go right. The final reason is because there is usually some element of magic in these stories.
Now, again, before you call me a heretic for saying I enjoy these stories because of magic, hear me out. What is the magic in these stories? The magic that happens are things that usually cannot occur in real life. The magic is impossible. We enjoy impossible things. It excites us. It enamors us. It makes us believe that there's something, or someone, more out there.
Well, believe it or not there is magic that occurs in real life. No, we don't have fairies going around granting wishes. What we have is something better: we have God. No, God doesn't work like the magical items or people in fairy tales. Instead, he works things for our good. He does this in everyday things and occurrences. He does this in everyday miracles.
Psalm 77:14 says: "You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." Think back to Bible times: how many miracles can you point out? There are over 150* miracles just listed in the Bible. Does God still perform miracles today? Maybe not like he did in the bible but he still works miracles. The problem is we tend to not see it. A miracle could be you are really thirsty but you cannot get to a water fountain and you don't have a water bottle. Then someone comes up and gives you a water bottle. That's a miracle! That person had no reason to come up and give you a water bottle and yet, he did!
Now, that's not to say that God doesn't still perform miracles like he did back in Bible times. We hear of amazing stories of people praying for healing for someone and that person is miraculously healed. We hear of stories of many people coming to Christ. That's a miracle! We hear stories of people being saved from very scary situations. Those things that happen are miracles. And, we need to be sure that when these miracles happen, we thank and praise God! He is the one who works things for our good. He is the God of miracles. He's the God of making impossible things possible.
So, do you believe in miracles? Do you praise God when miracles happen?
* https://www.spiritoflifeag.com/how-many-miracles-are-there-in-the-bible/
Now that I am a teacher I read many stories to students. The students love hearing the stories. However, I've found that there is one genre of stories that students enjoy hearing a lot: fairy tales. I also like hearing fairy tales. I am talking about the "and they all lived happily ever after" ones not the gross ones. Why is it that we enjoy fairy tales so much?
I think there are a few reasons we enjoy fairy tales. One is the fact that the characters "All live happily ever after." We know that problems happen in the story but we also know it will all turn out alright. Another reason is the stories are not real. We get tired of reality and how nothing seems to go right. The final reason is because there is usually some element of magic in these stories.
Now, again, before you call me a heretic for saying I enjoy these stories because of magic, hear me out. What is the magic in these stories? The magic that happens are things that usually cannot occur in real life. The magic is impossible. We enjoy impossible things. It excites us. It enamors us. It makes us believe that there's something, or someone, more out there.
Well, believe it or not there is magic that occurs in real life. No, we don't have fairies going around granting wishes. What we have is something better: we have God. No, God doesn't work like the magical items or people in fairy tales. Instead, he works things for our good. He does this in everyday things and occurrences. He does this in everyday miracles.
Psalm 77:14 says: "You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." Think back to Bible times: how many miracles can you point out? There are over 150* miracles just listed in the Bible. Does God still perform miracles today? Maybe not like he did in the bible but he still works miracles. The problem is we tend to not see it. A miracle could be you are really thirsty but you cannot get to a water fountain and you don't have a water bottle. Then someone comes up and gives you a water bottle. That's a miracle! That person had no reason to come up and give you a water bottle and yet, he did!
Now, that's not to say that God doesn't still perform miracles like he did back in Bible times. We hear of amazing stories of people praying for healing for someone and that person is miraculously healed. We hear of stories of many people coming to Christ. That's a miracle! We hear stories of people being saved from very scary situations. Those things that happen are miracles. And, we need to be sure that when these miracles happen, we thank and praise God! He is the one who works things for our good. He is the God of miracles. He's the God of making impossible things possible.
So, do you believe in miracles? Do you praise God when miracles happen?
* https://www.spiritoflifeag.com/how-many-miracles-are-there-in-the-bible/
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