John 9:10-11 – “How then were your eyes opened?” They demanded. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” (NIV)

As a biology professor at a Christian university, I often set aside a few minutes of a lecture to share with my class one of the miracles of healing described in the Bible. This practice is to encourage my students to relate what they are learning about the human body to what God needs to do to correct certain disabilities or infirmities, such as blindness or leprosy. Over the years, students have thanked me for this foray into the supernatural, but the following e-mail that I received last semester stands out from all the rest.

Hi, Dr. Chiang. I think it’s fascinating that we are learning about the anatomy of the ear in class. I’ve attached a personal testimony of a miraculous healing of my ear recently (last week!). I thought you’d appreciate hearing about it, knowing the miraculous accounts you’ve begun each class with. God be praised! – Jordan

I can’t really say that my first reaction to this news was one of joy. I was probably a bit surprised or even sceptical. Did a modern-day miracle really take place? What actually happened? I scrutinized Jordan’s personal testimony, and pared down his healing experience to this following account. He writes:

As he placed his hand on my back, fiery heat shot straight through my athletic jacket, dress shirt, t-shirt, and onto my skin in a moment’s time…. Joy started to well up inside of me… as Caillan prayed. … Using the best words I know how to use at this time to describe what happened next, it was like a large, blocked funnel, [which] had served as my range of hearing in my right ear my whole life, … was eradicated or “pulled back”. … All of a sudden, I jerked up my head and began to look around the room at each person in the room with my jaw gaping. I could hear perfectly clearly!

This account may not be enough to convince the sceptic that the supernatural exists and that physical healings do take place, but this event has had a tremendous impact on one young man’s walk with Christ. For a teacher hoping to encourage the faith of his students, Jordan’s testimony is a golden moment, a moment I will remember long after the course is done and the students have graduated. “God be praised!” As the previously blind man proclaimed to the Pharisees, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:25 NIV)

Miracles are miracles simply because they don’t always happen and they don’t occur on demand. But as Christians, we must be open to all that God can do for us.

Prayer: Our Lord, Saviour and Healer, in our busyness to serve You, we often forget that You have good in store for us, if only we ask. Whether our need is biological or psychological, spiritual or physical, we pray for the courage to ask and the audacity to believe that You still work through miracles. In Your name, we pray. Amen.

Gary Chiang
Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Thanks to PresbyCan Daily Devotional