As a clinical chaplain, I have heard many incredible stories and testimonies about miracles that happened in the lives of people during critical times. I have also heard how, despite many prayers, miracles did not happen as expected.

“He raised Lazarus from the dead, didn’t He? He brought light to the eyes of a blind man, healed the man with leprosy and the dried hand of another, didn’t He? Now why isn’t He doing the same thing for my loved one?”

This is a legitimate question, coming from the suffering heart of a loving person—one for which, as humans, we don’t have definitive answers, as these are matters beyond our comprehension.

What I have learned from my experiences, however, is that miracles happen in mysterious ways, in different shapes and forms, often unnoticed and maybe not as expected. “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” — Job 11:7

I believe that expecting a miracle when it seems impossible is a miracle in itself. It’s the unnoticed miracle of faith—faith that may be shaken, questioned, or doubted, but through lived experience becomes matured, tested, and solidified.

As emotional beings, we are people of attachments. We are attached to what we have, and the miracles we expect are often centered around our worldly attachments. Yet the miracles that God works are more about spiritual connection—something that transcends the physical world. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” — Isaiah 55:8–9

Therefore, in moments of despair, when miracles seem impossible in the way that we expect, let us ask God to help us discern the invisible miracles in our lives. They may not offer instant gratification, but they may shape our perspective on how we perceive life.

May we always find comfort in the nearness of God, even when we may feel distanced from it.