“…where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us…But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Judges 6:13 ESV

Do you see the encouragement here? This is what it looks like right before the miracle, right before the breakthrough, right before the Lord redeems and restores.

Did you ever wonder where the miracle was? They come. But before they do, it can look like it’s all wrong.

There can’t be a miracle unless there is an impossible situation. There can’t be a healing unless there is hurt. There can’t be deliverance if there isn’t first oppression. Do you want to see miracles? First, you have to be in need.

A time when we were in need was when we were missionaries in Turkey and the visa requirements changed, and we needed to show we had $40,000 in the bank to get our visa renewed. We left it in the Lord’s hands, surrendered to the fact we would have to leave if we didn’t get the money. Someone we never saw before or after came to our apartment and asked if he could send $40,000 to our account to pass on to a Syrian pastor. We got our bank statement and visa and passed on the money.