God of the miraculous

Last night, my computer died.

It happened like this: I was waiting for Micah to come over to work on some songs for the chapel service, and had made myself a cup of steaming hot Milo to drink while waiting. I was also playing the guitar and semi-writing a song at the same time. So, Micah knocks on the door, I turn to say hi, and with one fell swoop, the whole mug of Milo tips over and covers my desk which has my LAPTOP on it!

I rush to remove my laptop from the sticky brown liquid and try to dry it off as best as I can. After cleaning up the mess, I survey my Muse (which is what I call my laptop, no kidding) for any potential damage. It looks fine. So I bring up Internet Explorer because we need to look up some artwork... and then it happens. First the cursor freezes. And then everything freezes. Nothing moves. At all.

I try re-starting my computer, but that doesn't work, too. So I do a hard re-boot and that works... but my computer freezes. Again. Windows won't load. So I try again. And again. And again. And this goes on for a while. Each time without any success.

Anyway Micah and I did what we had to do, and at midnight a whole bunch of people arrive at my room, because the fire alarm went off at Parish. Anyway, they leave after that, Erica stays back and she prays for me... because I am distraught. Everything in my computer - rendered inaccesible - my work, my pictures, my songs, stuff I just finished arranging, my chord charts, all the training notes for the worship team, my LIFE...!

And all the while I'm thinking "I need to call my parents" because what's going to happen? How much am I going to have to spend on repairs? Can it even be repaired? Am I going to have to buy a new computer?? What am I going to do???

Phone rings. And mom calls. Asks me if they should send me cough medicine... I have been sick for a while, but praise God I am much better today!... anyway, I tell her what happened, and she prays for me, my dad prays for me, gives me a verse.

And suddenly I'm reminded of how God has given us authority, and of the lyrics of some of the words in the songs we sang at Mustard Seed that night:

Only you can shake the mountains
Only you can calm the oceans
Only you can hold the heavens
In the palm of your hands...

Then it hits me. THIS is the God of wonders. The God who fashioned the world from nothingness. The God who SPOKE LIFE into man. Surely, a laptop would be nothing to Him!

And I am also reminded: with faith as big as a mustard seed, it says in His word that if we tell a mountain to move it will move.

So, I look at my computer. The screen is black. It's dead. I try turning it on, it boots for 3 seconds and dies. And I speak, in the name of Jesus, "Work!" with all the faith that I could muster.

Then Erica and I just hang out for a while more... worshipping some, listening to music, talking about stuff... and then I hit the power button.

And...

MY COMPUTER CAME BACK TO LIFE!

Isn't our God amazing? Isn't He wonderful? Isn't it great to know that the same God who put the stars in the heavens, who was and is and is to come... is so concerned about EVERY SINGLE MINUTE DETAIL of our lives... even a spilled mug of milo and a dead computer... and that the Great I AM seizes every opportunity to show Himself real to us?

I am truly blessed. I am truly grateful.

This is my milestone. My altar of thanksgiving I am building for the God of the miraculous!