As a believer, I’ve come to realize that the miraculous can occur in the oddest and oftentimes from the most grim and unpleasant of personal circumstances and that God sometimes exacts His will through the thread of hardship, (I also know this from very personal experiences).

A few years ago, I heard a pastor speak who had been wrongfully incarcerated in a federal institution for 18 months, (a federal agricultural offense).  As he spoke, he told the story that when the cell door slammed behind him that first night and as he sat despondently on his bunk, he heard the Lord quietly ask him…”Can you still praise me in this?”.  In his situation and in his fear and self pity he at first wasn’t sure.  But, then he began to sing quietly, praising the Lord.  It was then that he realized the footstool of God was moving…something was happening. 

When the footstool of God moves, the supernatural happens here on earth.  Look around, have you seen evidence of the wondrous and miraculous in and on the earth and maybe in your own life?  Maybe you have…the footstool of God had imperceptibly moved. 

The footstool moment in this particular situation was that this pastor now has one of the most successful prison ministries in the upper Midwest.  Many have come to know the Lord through it and the spiritual fruit is overflowing.  This was his assignment.  He didn’t know it at the time, but he had to go through this experience first before the ministry could come to fruition.  The footstool of God had to move before the work could be started. 

When things look bleak in your life…and I mean really dark and painful and unpleasant things, can you honestly still praise God through it?  Can you look past your present situation and come to an understanding that possibly something miraculous and supernatural is being born from your seemingly dire circumstances? 

Are you able to let yourself to come to a fuller spiritual maturation and allow the extraordinary and inexplicable to occur through your suffering?

Can you cause the footstool of God to move?