Miracles

As previously stated, my nearly three year old back problem which was exacerbated due to move related which made me pull a muscle, additionally, came to a sudden halt at the beginning of last week. My spine cracked back to its place, and all pain stopped, as if it had never been there. Good. Now I can go to places again.

Also, there was another miracle. This time a financial one. Or truly, getting my deposit back. Which should not have been first place, a miracle at all.

But the story goes as follows. On the 3rd of June I received a message that the lettings agency did not hold my deposit.
I was not too sure whether it was a polite way to say that there shall be no return of your deposit money. But just in case I responded as politely as I could and added to thanks, God bless you. As I was quite sure I was never going to see that money again. It was a bit emotional too, since it was the last memory of my mother who had given it to me after I had lost my initial deposit at the arrival to the city to a fake landlord. (A foreign student who evidently studied IT and had decided to put his knowledge to work. Needless to say, out of 5 replies via Gumtree, 3 were fake).

So, a week later I received another message, regarding the same. This time I was asked to provide my payment details, for the landlords had asked for them for the return of my deposit. And, the money was transferred almost immediately, to my account. A resurrection miracle, after I had buried the hope of ever seeing the sum again.

So, God is working in our lives.

And sometimes shabby situations work out our good.

And sometimes not.

But God is God through it all.

When the friends of Daniel were thrown into a fiery pit in Daniel 3:8-30, then could not escape it, but came through unharmed. Their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned, and there was no smell of smoke on them.

But their shackles fell off.

And as an end result God got the glory.

Daniel 3:8-30 Good News Translation (GNT)

28 The king said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued these men who serve and trust him. They disobeyed my orders and risked their lives rather than bow down and worship any god except their own.

29 “And now I command that if anyone of any nation, race, or language speaks disrespectfully of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he is to be torn limb from limb, and his house is to be made a pile of ruins. There is no other god who can rescue like this.”

30 And the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to higher positions in the province of Babylon.

They were thrown into this situation for they were accused in disobedience. It was a false accusation, stirred up by their adversaries, who did not like them.

We encounter such people and situations from time to time. And sometimes we escape the situation, sometimes not.

Daniel 3:8-30 Good News Translation (GNT)

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, “Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. 17 If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. 18 But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.”

God was surely able to save them from the blazing furnace. But He didn't. And His faithful ones were thrown into a fiery pit.

That is the ultimate test of faithfulness. Whether we shall still remain true to Him and continue our walk with Him, instead of turning bitter and blaming God for something He didn't clearly do, as He is no Author of any injustice or cruelty, or evil deed.

In my former, prophetic church here in this city, there was a special "Lamentations" meeting.
And although the name - the Lamentations - seems something which does not necessarily fit into our doctrine and Christian faith, they explained it, that it was a meeting of giving praise to Him in spite of adverse circumstances. And it made sense.

This is what the book of Job is all about.

Some have come out with doctrines that Job must have spoken wrong by confessing a wrong thing, and therefore all this calamity hit him.
Maybe he did, maybe not.
Well, he did speak some things which were not quite so. But let us be honest, who of us wouldn't have done the same and far worse?

Job 3:25 ► New International Version
What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.

But we do not really see that he would have previously gone around, talking of things he was afraid of.
Sure, he took care of living a godly life, and in a way made an extra to make it sure that his sons and daughters were also covered, lest they....
But that was not a fearful walk, and these were not fearful confessions.

Fear does act the same as faith.
It is faith in reverse form. A negative, while faith is positive.

Fear speaks.
And it is alright to have a dose of fear. That in itself does not pull any calamity upon us. But our words born of it, they can, sure open the door and provide a foothold for the enemy for his negative operations against our soul, and body and eventually life.

But we can see that God really did not count any of the speech of Job against him. He sure addressed the bitter words of Job.
And then He told something entirely different. He explained, although He did not have to. And Job got it. And God asked Job to pray for his friends. For He found it easy to forgive Job, but asked Job to intercede for his poor comforters - some of them tried to rationalise his situation by trying to locate evil in his life. Some tried to indoctrinate him into stepping up, from misfortune to fortune. And the others just bashed him, and read him epistles, and provided unsolicited advice, instead of giving him and ear and "stepping into his shoes" by ministering strength and hope to him.

Job 42:10 ► New International Version
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

But if we see Job as someone who was simply negative and complained, then God had a different idea. In His eyes Job was good. He understood that Job was a human and it was not an easy situation for any human.

But as to the friends of Job, God saw them different.

Job 42:7-9 New International Version (NIV)
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.

8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

Now, Job was justified before God also before.

But it was the extra he did by interceding for his friends, which put him on top and released an extra blessing into his life.
And God knew Job's heart was big enough to accommodate his unfriendly and unkind friends, paying back their unkindness with goodness.

Job had lost his shackles, similar to the friends of Daniel who took the same path, through the fiery pit, or a trial of fire.

1 Peter 1:7 ► King James Bible
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Fire, it actually works for our good.


Now, coming back to my experience. - I had been a good tenant (or so my landlord always told). Nearly 11 years this July.
And I was served one of the last eviction notices before banned by the Government, based on section 21 notice.
My landlord had even visited my former home town, and brought me Estonian chocolate from there, for his new - Japanese - wife, had been raised in Finland and wanted to celebrate her birthday in the capital of Estonia. So, we were at good terms.

Hence, the sudden eviction notice with no prior indication of his plans, it had a potential to sting the soul.

I decided to go for a Christian route, and do as God tells us. Go an extra mile. Give a coat on top of your tunic, if forced to give it away.
Lettings agency asked me to do professional cleaning. I picked the most expensive provider, since he came with the best reviews and most excellent rating. And on top of it, I paid the gardeners to clear the garden, which I had inherited as a thicket. I paid for the bulky item removal, and it kind of made me hate recycling (for all these fees). But I went a step further than I had to, since it helped me mentally process what would have otherwise seemed as unjust. This way I had given my best to leave with good, thanking him for allowing me to stay at his property all these years. Some had been good, some would have benefitted of repairs. As to repairs, some were done, but in the bigger flat it never happened, until now. I had been asked to move to emergency accommodation, where I started off in July 2008, so it took me back to beginning. And then its bathroom ceiling collapsed. Maybe due to a toxic combination of moisture and revolutions of the centrifuge upstairs, which was somewhat faulty as it gave out engine noises, and at first I looked out to spot the airplane or a chopter flying past us. It sounded like aerodrome. Clearly there was something amiss with that.

And somehow, after I had buried already every hope, God moved and must have touched and spoken to the heart of the landlord and his ex-wife who co-managed the place (although I never saw her until we moved back to emergency flat, and promises for repairs were made....which never manifested, until now - after our eviction note).

I do not know really the details of the technique behind the happenings. But the outcome was good. Especially as the lettings agency which was the third party and did the actual management instead of the second, ex-wife's property management, told it was going to take £117 for the deposit return fee. Thankfully, it never happened. Things turned to seemingly adverse, downright to where they felt buried and no more to be considered as an option. And then God moved and made a resurrection miracle. And gave me every penny back. Which covered my end-of-tenancy costs, although not an extra overlapping 1.5 months when I paid for both properties....but this is already a different story, and surely, He shall find ways to compensate us also for this.

But I love these moments when I can see clearly the tangible Hand of God in action in our life.