Unseen Miracles: Guest post by Rachel Yarworth

Today I’m delighted to welcome Rachel Yarworth to the blog to share some of her story. Rachel has written a wonderful, relatable book called Friend of God, which I found compelling and encouraging. What I particularly liked about the book is that Rachel is not afraid to be real: she shared about the difficult times in life as much as the triumph, the sorrows as well as the joys. It’s also packed full of hope and a few miracles along the way, so do pick it up for an encouraging read.

Christianity is not about “Come to Jesus and all your troubles will go away”.  Actually, that’s not only foolish, but heretical, considering Jesus promised in this life we would have troubles

Rachel Yarworth

So, without further ado, welcome, Rachel, to Great Adventure.

UNSEEN MIRACLES – by Rachel Yarworth

When God asked me to write a book about my life experiences with Him, after I overcame my own horror of putting myself out there, I started to feel excited about sharing the amazing things He has done in my life. But the more I wrote, the more I became aware of those around me who had not received the miracles they longed for, and I faltered often, not wanting to cause them to stumble into discouraging comparison. Then a beta-reader gave voice to my fears through her own concern, saying I should try to sound less smug so I don’t make people feel they have failed compared to my life, or as if they were less loved by God than me – the very opposite of what I wanted. I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for the encouraging feedback of many others spurring me on, I might well have quit at that point. I’m especially thankful for the wise friend who expressly reassured me that my book was not a smug showing off of “look how many miracles I’ve had”, because in it I am also very frank about the miracles I didn’t receive: the babies I lost, the healings that didn’t happen, the times I utterly failed.

Because that is the point.

Christianity is not about “Come to Jesus and all your troubles will go away”.  Actually, that’s not only foolish, but heretical, considering Jesus promised in this life we would have troubles[1].  So why then do we still act like troubles are our fault, a result of inadequate faith, or some sort of punishment for accidentally failing to measure up to an impossible standard?  Why are we so quick to decide in times of trouble that God has forgotten us or left us behind to struggle in pain?  He hasn’t left us – He promised He would never leave us[2], and He cannot lie[3].  His compassion towards us is endless![4]

Yes, I have experienced some wonderful miracles, as described in my book, and like I said, I am hugely grateful for them: I love it when God shows His power and moves immovable mountains out of the way!  But you know what I’m even more grateful for?  The times – also in my book – when I didn’t get the obvious miracles, but God still showed up.  In the midst of all my pathetically weak, broken-hearted, sobbing messes, He NEVER FAILED to pour His love, compassion and grace into my heart.  Sometimes I got so engulfed with my own pain that I failed to recognise Him at first (and honestly, I don’t know a pain worse than not being able to find Him), but He always patiently waited until I stopped railing against the storm and quieted enough to hear His voice again.  His love never fails[5].

So no, Christianity isn’t about “Come to Jesus and all your problems will go away”.  But it is about Matt 11:28 – “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”.

Jesus took on flesh[6] and became one of us so He could experience the struggle and the suffering of humanity – not to judge us and write us off, but so He could speak to us in our times of struggle and pain, to open His arms wide and say “Come here, let Me embrace you”.  Sometimes He takes our burdens away in obviously miraculous ways; other times He just shoulders the weight and helps us to carry them.  Either way, He is always, ALWAYS there, with endless compassion and grace to carry us through.  It might be unseen by others, but His loving presence with us really is the best of miracles.

[1] Jn 16:33

[2] Heb 13:5

[3] Tit 1:2

[4] Lam 3:22-23

[5] 1 Cor 13:8

[6] Jn 1:14

Thanks to Rachel for sharing today! Do add your comments on the post and your experiences of friendship with God.

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