Miracles Are Real: What Data Can’t Predict

In times of chaos, being a beacon of hope is one of the best services we can offer. But that doesn’t mean being naive about how serious things actually are. Heads in sand make poor leaders.

There are experts with strong data suggesting we should prepare for worst case scenarios. So that’s what I do. I take the data seriously. I act on it. I don’t pretend that preparation is pessimism.

But here’s what data scientists aren’t good at predicting: miracles are real, and they happen more often than any model accounts for.

The Limits of Data

Data-driven minds struggle with miracles because miracles don’t fit the pattern. They’re anomalies. Outliers that get excluded from the analysis.

And yet, my experience is that miracles happen frequently. Not because I’m special, but because I hold space for them. The miracles we experience are directly related to what we feel is possible.

If you’ve already decided that the data tells the whole story, you’ve closed the door on possibility. You’ve limited your outcomes to what the numbers predict. You’ve made the spreadsheet your god.

Data tells you about the past. It makes educated guesses about the future based on patterns that have already occurred. But it can’t account for consciousness. It can’t model faith. It can’t predict what happens when someone decides to believe in something beyond the probable.

Data and Faith Aren’t Opposites

This isn’t about ignoring data. Take in the information. Factor it into your decisions. Don’t become reckless because you’re hoping for divine intervention.

But don’t let data talk you out of your spiritual strategy for living. That architecture is more important during chaos than it’s ever been. The two can coexist. They should coexist.

The data tells you what’s probable. Your spiritual practice opens space for what’s possible beyond the probable. One is about managing risk. The other is about expanding potential.

Holding Space for Miracles

There’s a practice here that sounds woo but works: pray and hold space for miracles. This isn’t passive hoping. It’s lending energy and probability to possibilities that data can’t account for.

Consider that the chaos you’re facing might be a miracle in disguise. It has the potential to shift everything about how you move forward. That could be incredibly positive. What looks like destruction often precedes construction. What feels like ending often makes room for beginning.

We can be of service to the world by holding space for miraculous outcomes. Not instead of taking action. Before and during action. The prayer and the preparation work together.

The Practice

Take in the data. Prepare for worst case scenarios. Don’t be naive. Do the practical things that need to be done.

Then, once you feel safe and prepared, give your attention to the idea that miracles are real. Connect into inspiration. Pray. Feel into possibility. Let yourself imagine outcomes that the models say are unlikely.

Then act from that place.

The spiritual strategy isn’t instead of practical action. It’s the ground from which practical action becomes more effective. When you move from faith rather than fear, your actions carry different energy. They create different ripples.

Miracles are real. I’ve seen too many to doubt it. Godspeed.