“I want to see more miracles!” Our friend pounded his fist into the table to emphasize how emphatic he was. “My biggest desire is to see God at work. I earnestly desire miracles!”

I understand our friend’s passion. Watching God do something incredible, something unexpected, something impossible, builds our faith like little else can. We hear of miracles in other places and we want one of our own.

But do we really?

I love how Pete phrased it: “What does the beginning of a miracle look like?”

Think about that for a moment. When does God do miracles? When everything is going well? When did He part the Red Sea? When did He provide manna and quail and water from a rock?

We experience God’s miracles most often when we need them. When we’re sick, and there’s no cure. When we’re out of money and there’s no job. When we’re desperate. Often, miracles begin with everything going wrong—when the situation is totally out of our control.

Then there are the miracles that don’t look much like blessings, at least at first. Consider the immaculate conception from Mary’s perspective. She lost her reputation, and almost lost her fiancé (except for another miraculous dream). She suffered shame and scorn. Eventually, she suffered the death of her firstborn son. It’s only in the bigger picture that we can see this all-surpassing miracle and thank God for it. How do Mary’s problems compare with the salvation of mankind?

Just like the ancient Israelites, when life is hard, I have a tendency to grumble and complain. Even though I know it’s wrong—that complaining is telling God that He’s doing it all wrong—it’s an all-too-frequent human response. Pete, on the other hand, tends to get excited. As he puts it, “We’re heading toward a brick wall at 100 miles per hour. Wow, God’s going to do something amazing!”

And He does.

Little by little, I’m getting better at this. I’m trying to keep God’s perspective. I’m trying to anticipate the miraculous rather than gripe about the circumstances. I’m even beginning to take it one step further.

Instead of waiting for things to go wrong, I’m choosing to take steps of faith. When God asks us to go out on a limb, I’m learning to ask, “How far?” We have another friend who, when faced with a choice, automatically picks the one that requires more faith. As you might expect, he sees miracles on a regular basis. That’s not to say we should test God. And we don’t need to—there are plenty of opportunities to walk in faith just by obeying what He tells us.

Just remember, miracles aren’t an end in and of themselves. Don’t seek the gift—seek the Giver. Sure, miracles are exciting, but God is so much more!