¹¹ This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

John 2:11 [NLT]

Something tells me that we might be having a few more discussions surrounding the subject of “performing signs and wonders” for our next few Daily Bread entries.

But for today, we are going to focus on just one. The very first miracle that Jesus performed when He was attending a wedding. It was there that He performed His very first miracle in public view. So, when the Bible tells us that the disciples [saw] believed it, I must imagine that on some level, even as human beings, they must’ve had doubts before that.

Having Faith is NOT the Absence of Doubt.

Yes, I kinda learned that one by myself during my first attempt at this whole Daily Bread routine years ago. I realized that it is okay for us, Christians and believers to experience doubt. It is a very normal human mental condition. We often call it, being skeptical. In an extreme case, a cynic. Either way, we do doubt sometimes. It could be that we doubt ourselves, doubt others, or even doubting God Himself. And like I said, it’s okay.

It is only in the face of our doubts that we need to learn to choose faith, hope and belief. Trust me, I know how challenging that can be some times. I struggle a lot myself. Perhaps more so in recent months and years of my life. It was so bad that I eventually lost myself to my own doubts. Like I was circling down the drain.

Remembering the First Miraculous Sign that God Performed in My Life

That very first miraculous sign that God has performed in my life wasn’t the meeting of my first two benefactors (first in Oct 2015, and second in Aug 2019). No. I am not referring to them. Those were amazing amazing signs, trust me. Undeniable. But no.

The very first sign and wonder that God did in my life was on 3rd March 2015. That was when I was first approached by a man who claimed to be working for the United Nation’s Environmental Program. As someone who cares deeply about the climate, you can imagine that I was both really happy, overjoyed actually, surprised and also somewhat skeptical too. I was a little concerned that it might be a scam and it was just too good to be true at that time.

And it was totally legit. Everything checked out. I was later shortlisted for the contract to work on the project and I even got to travel to Geneva two weeks around the time of that year’s COP conference. Even till this day, it is one of my proudest achievements as a freelancer. It was that first major breakthrough. And that experience will always have a special place in my heart.

So yes, I did have my doubts, but I also understood quickly after that that it is not my place to question how God works. And yes, He always does work in the most mysterious ways. So I chose to accept that this was something that was meant for me and I began to embrace it (even though I still felt a little inadequate at times).

This personal lesson served as a reminder during my first attempt of this doing these daily devotionals in 2018. It was meant as a way to remind me that there is always hope coming from the most least expected places.

That is also why, today, I feel reminded that just like that very first miraculous sign, and the second and the third one after that, that God can and will perform another sign and wonder again in my life. I believe in that. Sure, do I have any doubts still, yeah. But it is in spite of my doubts that I am choosing to believe that it is possible. And I am looking forward to it.

If you are looking for a sign and wonder of your own right now, trust me, you won’t have to look very far. It might be much closer than you realized. Sometimes we just can’t really see it with our own eyes yet.

Personal Prayer for Today

Dear Father in Heaven,

It truly has been some time since I’ve thought about that first miraculous sign that You have performed in my life. I can almost still remember my own self-doubts, and thinking to myself, “what did I do to deserve this?”

But You also reminded me that every single time You performed a miracle, it’s not just for me, it is for those who might not yet believe in You. It is also to provide hope to others that might be struggling and need a sign that You are real, that You can still do amazing and wonderful things.

I acknowledge that right now, I am still experiencing some doubts, wondering if I really deserve another miracle. I probably don’t, but this isn’t about what I have done to earn it, or whatever I am worthy of it. This is about Your amazing grace, and Your love for me as a Father.

So today, right here and now, I am choosing to trust You, to believe that Your next sign and wonder is not far behind. That it’s already there waiting for me. I just can’t see it yet. But I believe in it still.

Thank You Father for giving me hope when I had none. Thank You for showing me that having faith is always a choice. And today, I am choosing to have faith.

I pray and give You all of my thanks and all off my praises.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen.