An Incremental Miracle

I tend to think the very definition of a miracle is something immediate, dramatic and complete. 
But miracles can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. 
Look at this one from Mark 8:23-25

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.

Can we start by acknowledging that spitting into another person’s eyes is a little unorthodox? And then can we concede it’s strange that, after the spitting, the man’s sight is only partially restored?

Of course Jesus has the capacity to perfectly restore the blind man’s sight on the first try. There are long lists of miracles that chronicle Christ’s bold healings- and the vast majority of them are done in one take. Why, exactly, does this miracle happen in stages?

In short, I have no idea. But maybe it’s a reminder for us to add patience to our faith, persistence to our belief that God can do the impossible. The blind man doesn’t say “You’re not a very good healer. I was hoping for more than partial vision.” He simply states his reality: “It’s better than it was. But it hasn’t come into focus quite yet.”

Maybe Jesus is waiting for us to keep asking, continue pressing, carry on believing. Maybe the miracle you need isn’t of the physical or healing variety. Maybe you’re asking for wisdom in the chaos of confusion. Sometimes God takes us from total darkness, to dimly lit fuzzy shapes and then, and only later, to perfect clarity.

Don’t give up. God gives us vision for what we need to see when we need to see it. If your moment feels incomplete, don’t relent. God has a next move- for His glory and for your good, even if you can’t see it yet.