I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people complain about the lack of miracles these days. God performed plenty of them in Bible times. We hear stories of His miracles in other places. So, what’s the deal with us? Why isn’t God performing more miracles here in modern America? Some say that Americans are just too skeptical and scientific. They argue that if we would return to a more simple faith, God could perform more miracles among us.

I’m not so sure. Jesus challenges us with the story about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16). The point is that if our faith is not sufficiently strengthened by God in the simple, natural things of life, why would we be convinced if he did something miraculous?

Of course, it doesn’t have to be an either/or sort of issue. We may see God in the simple, mundane things of life, as well as in an occasional miracle. We all desire to recognize God’s presence in our lives. But I’ve known too many people who obsessively look for miracles but fail to see God in the simple, ordinary details of day-to-day life. I’ve often been accused of seeing ethical issues behind every bush. I’m looking behind another bush here in the hope of seeing God’s presence in our simple human relationships.

Frankly, it doesn’t bother me that I have never seen a miracle. I guess I would wonder if what I saw was the work of God or the devil since the devil is supposed to be able to do supernatural stuff also. I do know, however, that all good things come from God; all loving and decent human interactions are saturated with God’s presence. And to this, I will cling.

Ellen White said this about miracles: “Brethren, the greatest miracle that can be wrought is the conversion of the human heart.... When this, the greatest of all miracles, is wrought within our hearts, we shall see the workings of other miracles” (Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, pg. 113.1).

What other miracles might we see? Perhaps we will see miracles in a beautiful sunset made so by an atmosphere filled with smog. Perhaps in the smile of a stranger who actually looks at you in the midst of a traffic jam. Perhaps in the laugh of a baby held in the arms of a grandmother dying of cancer. Where will you see God in the details today?