It is true that we serve a God of miracles. Most of us believers tend to get very excited when we hear about miracles.

While there is nothing wrong with miracles especially if the source is God, we have to be very careful that we don’t just focus on miracles exclusively at the expense of God Himself.

Jesus once rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees about their huge appetite for miracles – “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and no sign shall be given except the sign of prophet Jonah” (Mathew 16:4). Some of us believers are busy seeking miracles instead of seeking the God who is the Source of miracles.

I would like to define a miracle as the suspension or superseding of natural laws. Personally, I have been a recipient of so many miracles. I, therefore, am fully persuaded that the Lord performs miracles and uses them like a bell to draw people unto Himself.

Miracles are also in the Word of God and we see Jesus and many other people including Paul and Peter performing miracles and so I believe in miracles.

His word also confirms that “these signs shall follow them who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover” (summary of Mark 16: 17-18).

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However, the Lord’s preference is not to meet your needs through a miracle. Now before you begin to throw stones at me, let me ask you a question. Would you rather have the Lord perform a miracle to pull you out of bankruptcy or be blessed financially that He wouldn’t have to? Or would you rather receive a miracle of healing or live with the blessing of good health?

I would like to think that the logical answer to both of these questions is obvious. It is always better to avoid problems, which is the result of living in blessing, than it is to be delivered out of them, which requires a miracle.

First, blessings prevent crises, while miracles deliver us from crises. When you are living in the blessing of good health for example, there is no need for you to have a miracle for healing. Apostle John says “Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in good health even as your soul prospers” (3 John:2). This is an example of someone living in God’s blessings.

Second, a blessing is always a more abundant supply than a miracle. When you are living under God’s blessings, you live your “life abundantly”.

Miracles at times come in dribs and drabs for example, you may be in need for school fees for your child. You can pray to God for a miracle and then God answers your prayer through another brother who brings in money for the fees.

This, however, doesn’t mean that all your financial needs are then covered. You may still need money for rent, food and transport. When you are blessed financially, “God will make all grace come in abundance to you, so that you will always under all circumstances, regardless of the need have complete sufficiency in everything, being completely self sufficient in Him and have abundance for every good work and act of charity” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Third, miracles are a temporary fix or they just solve one particular challenge at a time, while blessings are permanent solutions.

 Therefore if you are living from miracle to miracle, it probably means you are living from crisis to crisis. This is when you can be taken advantage of by some of us ministers of the Gospel. They always target people who are in a crisis and are desperate. You become a very easy prey to some of the cunning and false ministers of the Gospel.

This is happening globally and so beware. I once saw a quote which stated that “Jesus fed five thousand people but these days we find five thousand people feeding one person”.

How sad. You should know the Word for yourself to avoid such exploitation.

God’s original intent for His creation was to function under His blessing instead of a miracle. If sin hadn’t corrupted God’s creation, there would be no need for miracles.

Everyone would be healthy, everyone would be prosperous and strife, the cause of broken relationships and wars wouldn’t even exist.

Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world and there will always be a place for miracles.

However, Jesus not only forgave us for our sins, He redeemed us from the curse and place blessings on His followers.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us: for it is written Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

If we believe we are blessed and act accordingly, we can avoid many of the problems that make us candidates for miracles.

It is one thing to believe and yet another to act on what the Word of God says. Most of us can recite scriptures and we even underline verses in the Bible, but we don’t allow those verses to underline our behaviours.

We sing songs about how we “love Jesus” and yet this is just lip service. The Bible says “if you love Me, obey my commands” (John 14:15).

We can sing until we become blue in the face, unless we obey the Word then we don’t love Him.

For example, some believers pray for financial miracles but aren’t practicing the principle of giving.

This will not work. The Bible makes it very clear that “give and it shall be given back to you, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over…” (Luke 6:38).

They ignore or disobey God’s Word in faith and yet they still expect a miracle to happen.

Some of us believers are very lazy and believe that if you “claim it, or touch it”, it will be yours. I would be grateful if someone would show me the scriptures which instruct us to “just claim and grab”.

That is a doctrine that is peddled by lazy people.

The Lord told us to work so that He would bless the work of our hands and that if we would give, it would be given unto us. If you don’t work you don’t deserve to eat

 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

“Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider her ways and be wise”(Prov 6:6). Why then do we expect to prosper if we are lazy?

There is nothing that anointing oil or water can do if you are lazy.

If you don’t read for your exams no amount of oil on your ball point pen will make you pass. You can’t microwave success my dear brother or sister.

It takes nine months for a normal baby to be born and so you can’t have a baby in one month by impregnating nine women in a day. It doesn’t work.

Why do you want to cut corners? You will create a worse situation for yourself in the process.

We just have to obey His commands, and the results will come.

Lack of faith in God’s blessing causes us to enter into a crisis. However if we continue steadfast in our belief of a miracle, we receive just enough to get over the hump. The next month we need another miracle.

This is why we find most people then get addicted to miracles because that becomes their daily routine.

 No wonder we find so many believers chasing after miracles moving from one church to the other. You become a spiritual tourist. That is not abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

Unlike miracles, once a blessing is received, no outside force can stop it: “Behold I have received commandment to bless. He has blessed and I can’t reverse it”(Numbers 23:20).

God’s blessings bring true riches and are without repentance (Romans 11:29).

The only thing that can stop the blessing of God in our lives is our unbelief.

Balaam’s curse couldn’t stop the blessing that was on the nation of Israel. The blessing received with faith will always trump the curse.

So what is the blessing of God and how do we receive it? The blessing of God isn’t things. It will produce things but the blessing isn’t things.

It is His divine spoken favour and that blessing if mixed with faith, will produce abundance in spirit, soul and body.

If you can make the adjustment from a miracle mentality to a blessed mentality you will begin to prosper as never before.

The good news is that you are already blessed.

When it comes to personal needs, miracles should be for people who don’t have the revelation of God’s blessing. Don’t let that be you.

  • Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: drdoug@corporatemomentum.biz or Twitter @dougmamvura