By R.A. Mathews

A miracle happened last summer. One that I witnessed.

Anne had recently lost her grandfather when she met Sam. 

“He reminded me so much of my granddad,” she said. “His features, his work—everything. I wanted to be with Sam all the time.” 

Sam liked her, too. They worked on various projects, and Anne said, “I just needed to know about his relationship with the Lord.” 

Anne has a deep abiding faith in God. When she asked Sam if he went to church and loved the Lord, he said, “Yes.” Later, she learned that wasn’t true. 

“At the outset, he had mentioned a girlfriend,” Anne said. “I shrugged it off. They weren’t married. The next six months of my life with Sam were the happiest I had been since my grandfather died.”

Then everything changed, and she disappeared. Sam called her and she went to see him. 

I have changed details to protect their privacy, but it seems Sam had been living with the girlfriend for years. Anne said, “I couldn’t be involved in anything like that.”

What I haven’t told you is that Anne had visited a friend during this time and had developed a painful, itchy rash on the back of her neck. It had come from the friend when they were standing back-to-back, measuring their heights. 

Over the next six months, she tried everything and finally went to a doctor who gave Anne a cream. That didn’t work. 

Her friend saw a specialist and, even with his high-powered cream, it had taken forever to get rid of the rash.

After the day Anne talked with Sam, she went home — deeply sad but also determined. She awoke the next day, and the rash had disappeared. A spontaneous healing.

When you walk with God and choose Him over what you want — dearly want — a blessing will come. 

Who in Scripture turned from evil to God?

You may recall 17-year-old Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his ten jealous brothers after their father gave the boy a coat of many colors. Here’s how that happened.

“Joseph, when he was seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers…  And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons…  and he made him a multicolored tunic. And his brothers…  hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms… When they saw him from a distance…  they plotted…  to put him to death…  and they took him and threw him into the pit…  But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels…  so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites…  [who] sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard” (Genesis 37:2-36, NASB).

Joseph ultimately became second in command in Egypt. But that didn’t happen overnight — first Joseph faced evil. Here’s the story.

“Joseph found favor in [Potiphar’s] sight…  [who] left Joseph in charge of everything that he owned…  Now Joseph was handsome…  and [Potiphar’s wife] said, ‘Sleep with me.’ But he refused…  day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her, [but] one day…  she grabbed him by his garment, saying, ‘Sleep with me!’ But he left his garment in her hand and fled…  Then she spoke to [Potiphar]…  ‘This is what your slave did to me,’ [and]…  Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison… ” (Genesis 39:4-20, NASB).

Joseph always chose God over evil. 

Next week, we’ll look at how Joseph amazingly went from Pharaoh’s prison to second-in-command in Egypt. It happened in a flash. 

With God, your life can turn around just that fast. But you have to be ready. Joseph needed years of humility to succeed in the massively important position God ultimately gave him.

Anne said, “I wanted Sam more than just about anything.”

Evil can be cruel and give you your heart’s desire. You will have to choose. Bend your life from what you know is wrong to God’s way. Do it to walk closely with Him, not to be blessed. 

And you will be blessed.

Look for the Rev. R.A. Mathews at RAMathews.com where you can contact her and read her biography and samples of her books. Copyright © 2025 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.