One thing I can tell you with certainty: God is still in the miracle-working business. Since I started working in 3ABN’s Pastoral Department, I’ve been a frequent witness to His mighty power. Some of His miracles deal with ordinary matters in an extraordinary way, others seem almost mystifying—the kind of occurrence that leaves me scratching my head as to the purpose of it all. But God always has a purpose—and His heart’s desire is to instill faith in the hearts of the faithful.
My dear friend, Elder Danny Pope, recently shared a marvelous account of the Lord’s blessing on a Communion service in his small Adventist church in Lexington, North Carolina. It’s the type of miracle that might leave you asking “why?” But we already know God’s purpose—He is responding to the faith of His believers to create an unshakeable faith in His mighty power.
When the pastor of Danny’s church announced a Communion service would be held in two weeks, the deaconesses began their routine duties of setting things in place and preparing the bread and grape juice. Forty-four servings of each. That should do it.
Then came the Sabbath where the service would be enjoyed by all. At the front of the church, the Communion table—covered with a dazzling white cloth—was set with a silver platter of Communion bread on the left and the right. A double-tiered silver container filled with tiny cups of unfermented grape juice was centered between the platters. All things were in order.
Following the foot-washing service of humility, everyone gathered in the sanctuary. The pastor and church elders were seated near the Communion table but suddenly and unexpectedly, more and more members continued arriving and filling the pews.
Knowing they had prepared only 44 pieces of unleavened bread, the deaconesses did a head count. There were at least 41 members, including a few baptized children that normally participated in the service. Would there be enough to serve every soul who anticipated the blessing of participating, or would someone leave the church feeling overlooked? Quickly, the deaconesses formed a circle for prayer. With their arms of faith wrapped around one another, they asked the unseen Guest—the Holy Spirit—for a miracle.
“When believers assemble to celebrate the ordinances, there are present messengers unseen by human eyes …. Christ by the Holy Spirit is there to set the seal to His own ordinance ….”(Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pg. 656).
From pew to pew, the deacons passed the silver platters bearing the divine emblem of Communion bread. The ladies who had overseen the baking of the 44 pieces of bread fervently prayed throughout the service, asking the Lord to multiply their supply, just as He had with the five loaves and two fishes that fed the multitude of 5,000 people. In answer to their faith, as each member respectfully took a piece of the bread and passed the platters on to the next, the unseen Master of Love and Life produced another piece of bread to replace the one that had been removed. Unaware of the desperate need, the miracle took place unnoticed by the members or the deacons who served. Reaching the last pew, the men turned and proceeded to the front of the church to lay the silver platters back on the table. As the platters were being covered, Danny was shocked to notice that there looked to be an equal amount of bread as when they had first begun.
The service concluded with a hymn and a prayer of blessing from the pastor. The ladies retrieved the silver platters and carried them to the fellowship hall. Counting the pieces, they discovered there were 48 remaining after all had been served—four more than had been initially placed on the platters! God had performed a miracle—there was no other explanation.
As the word spread after the service, an excitement filled the air. It’s no surprise that someone voiced a doubt, supposing the ladies were imagining it all, so a deaconess suggested they call the pastor for confirmation. He had taken the remaining juice and bread home with him, to be disposed of in a reverent manner, and when asked how much bread remained, his count was 48 pieces.
Forty-four pieces of Communion bread had been prepared on Earth. Forty-eight pieces remained after all had been served.
You might wonder why God performed this miracle. It certainly made a divine impact on the members of the church staff. Their faith is soaring. And, as Danny so aptly put it, that Sabbath day, many members partook of a divine nugget of heavenly manna that had been shaped, seasoned, and baked in the spiritual realm.
I think we all can learn from this amazing account. The Holy Spirit is with us at all times, and the Lord is more than willing to provide all that we need—and beyond. Perhaps He has performed a number of miracles in our lives of which we are unaware because we were ignorant of our need and did not recognize His miraculous provision in the nick of time. Oh, let us pray that God will open the eyes of our hearts to see His mighty deeds in our lives. Let us thank Him daily for all that He has done—and continues to do—to provide abundant life for us. God never changes. He is the same miracle-working God that He has always been.
Thank you, Jesus!
