In these trying times, it is important now more than ever that Christians do not lose their faith, but hold tight to it. It can seem that God is not listening, or that he is absent from our lives when things are not going well. But he is the word and the way. My third published book, Faith Journey, is a compilation of faith testimonials from a number of Christians, poetry, pictures, and real-life stories that will hopefully help you stay strong in your faith. The below is an excerpt from the book. It is available on Amazon now, and you can find it here.

Matthew 12:39 – “He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’”

There have been a number of events in my life that have shown me that God is truly with us in the world. I think a lot of people, myself included, don’t pay attention to these things. For example, I recall my brother telling me that one time he was walking by this set of train tracks with his headphones on and the music turned way up, when out of nowhere, he looked down and saw a snake about a couple inches from his foot. He stepped back, and just as he stepped back, a train went flying by on the tracks. He told me that had that snake not been there, he probably would be dead. Then there was the time that my aunt was driving down a wooded drive after my grandmother recently passed away. My aunt was alone in the car and out of nowhere, my grandmother (my aunt’s mother) appeared beside her in the passenger seat and told her she was okay and that she always liked that ride. So, the thing about our world is that we are constantly looking for physical evidence of God’s existence. When the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign, he gets angry and says the only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah, which basically means that Jonah served three days in the belly of the fish, just as Jesus served three days in the earth until he rose and became the Savior for our sins. He is telling us that we shouldn’t need signs to be believers. It’s like the wisdom of Charlie from the movie The Santa Claus, “Have you ever seen a million dollars? Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” So, these miraculous events still show us God’s power, just as when He walked on water or turned water to wine. Yet, we shouldn’t look to these alone for His presence in our lives.