The Bible is full of inspiring stories that have changed the entire history of the world. Stories of love, redemption, courage, and forgiveness.

It’s also full of really weird stories and unsavory characters.

Miracles are some of the most amazing parts, but that doesn’t always mean they are easy to understand and/or believe.

Did you know Thomas Jefferson made his own version of the Bible that removed all of its miracles? I appreciate his dedication, but he took out some of the coolest parts: Seas parting, leprosy healed, and dead people coming back to life.

He just couldn’t make himself believe that miracles like this could happen. And I get it – some of them are beyond comprehension.

To be clear, I believe in all of these miracles. I believe our God who created the Heavens and the Earth is more than capable to do all of these. But imagining how they worked is a different story.

These are my seven favorite miracles that are also very hard to really picture and grasp.

7. Jesus Turns Water Into Wine

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” John 2:6-10 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

You’re at a wedding. The party is going well and everyone is having a great time. But then the wine is all gone! What to do?

Have Jesus make some more wine in under 5 minutes!

There are so many things I like about this story. The way Mary assumes Jesus will help out even though he never he says he will. The way the servants think he might be crazy. That the wine is the best wine of the day. It’s just a great story that makes me smile every time!

The Chosen has a great dramatization of it:

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

This one actually isn’t that hard for me to believe in it physically happening. This one is hard because Jesus made 6 gallons of wine for a party that had already drunk a whole lot of wine before that. It definitely makes me re-examine some of the attitudes I had about alcohol growing up in a conservative church.

I’ve heard sermons about how wine back then wasn’t very strong, but that’s never made sense because Paul wrote about drunkenness often. If wine couldn’t make you drunk, then why did he tell people not do it so much?

So Jesus made sure the party kept going by making 6 gallons of wine!

6. The Never Ending Flour Jar and Oil Jug

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:14-16 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

I love this miracle because of its smallness. It wasn’t big and loud. It didn’t help a huge number of people. And it’s not even the biggest miracle in this chapter. It’s just a woman and her son, yet God sees to it that their suffering and fear are alleviated.

It can be hard to believe that God cares about me and my struggles when so many other big things are going on in the world, but this miracle reminds me that’s just not the case.

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

The circumstances of this one are just so weird. If I was living in that house at this time I would have been staring into that jar for as long as possible. Or maybe dump the whole thing out then watch and wait for it to fill back up. It’s really hard for me to imagine this one, so it’s hard to believe. Even if it is a “small” one.

5. A Donkey Tells His Rider to Stop Whipping Him

Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.

“You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”

“But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” Numbers 22:28-30 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

A donkey spoke! When I was little I used to wait so desperately for my pets and toys to talk to me. The idea that they might be able to excite and scared me. I have no idea what I would have done if they had ever spoken, but I probably wouldn’t have replied without wondering what the heck was going on first.

Not Balaam. It’s like this isn’t even his first experience with that donkey speaking to him. He just answers him right back in normal conversation. My boyhood dream come true.

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

Do you think the donkey always had those thoughts and he just got the ability to speak? Or did that give him the ability to speak and think? Or did God just move the donkey’s muscles in a way that made those sounds come out?

All of those different choices are weird, and the first two are sad for the donkey. Especially if he knew that this was just a limited-time thing. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to speak or think. Poor guy.

4. A Metal Snake on a Pole Cures Thousands of Snake Bites

Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed! Numbers 21:8-9 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

The Israelites were living Indiana Jones’s worst nightmare, on a journey through the desert, hungry and thirsty, when there was a plague of venomous snakes. Moses prayed the snakes would go away, and God told him to make a metal snake and hold it up high for the people to see.

It’s awesome because of the unexpected way God answered this prayer. He could have removed the thing causing the fear and anxiety, but instead he tells the people to gaze upon this symbol in the midst of the danger. I don’t really understand all of the symbolism, but I’m sure there’s a sermon in there somewhere.

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

This one isn’t hard to believe, per se, but it’s hard to understand and imagine. If someone looked at the snake on the pole did the the real snakes leave them alone, or did their venom just not work?

Did it still hurt to get bit, or were you numb as long as you looked that way? What if you blinked right when you got bit?

So many questions, so few answers.

3. Jesus Feeds the Multitudes

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed. Mark 6:41-44 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

Pretty much every miracle Jesus did was awesome. This one (and the other time He did it) is one of the coolest to imagine.

There were thousands of people spread out before him and they were all getting hangry. They were probably poor and none of them planned ahead. There is just a little bit of food that they probably took from one family.

Pause: We never think about the people who gave up their food. They were the only ones who planned ahead, but they trusted Jesus enough to give up their food even though they were the only ones who were self-sufficient.

They didn’t give out of their abundance. They gave out of their relative wealth. I’m sure there’s a sermon there, too.

Then, Jesus starts holding up the bread and breaking it into pieces without ever running out of pieces. And fed everyone. so cool! And amazing!

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

This one is similar to the widow with her flour and oil. Did Jesus keep creating bread out of thin air? I’m not saying that’s impossible. I’m saying what did that look like? What did the disciples see?

Did Jesus ever pull some fish out from behind Peter’s ear? I really hope he did. 🤣🤣🤣

2. A Bunch of People Come Back to Life in Jerusalem

The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:51-53 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

“Many” people that were dead and buried came back to life. Imagine you’re sitting down to dinner and there’s a knock on the door. You open it to see your brother or your mother or your daughter that you buried last fall is there hoping to join you for dinner. That would be amazing (and incredibly overwhelming)!

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

There are 10 stories of resurrection in the Bible, but this one is the weirdest to me. I’m not sure why it seems any more hard to believe than the resurrection of Eutychus, but it definitely is. How did this work?

Did angels roll back stones for all of them? Were they freshly dead or did God recompose their body? What did the people that were raised think was going on? And what did they do if their home or family was gone because they’d been dead for so long already?

I believe this happened, but only because I believe Jesus is God, and not because it makes sense. Regardless, it’s a weird one.

Honorable Mention: Elijah Outruns a Chariot for at Least 15 Miles

Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:46 (NLT)

I always found this one really hard to believe when I was younger. But then I listened to a podcast. About a guy outrunning a horse in 2019. #Ooops.

A guy in Arizona, Nick Coury, beat a horse up a mountain on a 50-mile trail, so maybe that just goes to show ~~you~~ me that just because something seems impossible, it doesn’t mean it is. But Elijah’s run is still impressive enough to be a miracle, I think.

1. The Earth Stops Spinning so the Israelites Can Keep Warring

So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. There has never been a day like this one before or since when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day! Joshua 10:13-14 (NLT)

Why It’s Awesome:

Um, the sun stood still! That is so cool! There are definitely times I wish I could look up at the sun, and be like, “Hey! Just stay there! I have some stuff to get done!” Do you think all of the soldiers in that battle were thinking “This day is taking forever!” or do you think they knew what was going on?

Why It’s Hard to Believe:

Um, the sun stood still? How? Did the earth stop spinning? Did God create an artificial sun that lit up the battlefield but let people in modern-day Asia and the Western Hemisphere go to bed at the usual time?

Or maybe they were moving like Flash to outside observers and they were just moving at an incredibly high rate? So the day was still 24 hours long, but they lived two full days at that time because they were moving so fast. Who knows?

The Bible is not an easy book to understand. But it’s worth reading and wrestling with. It’s vital to wrestle with it.

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