S. Acts 14:8-10 (NIV) 8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
O. This man in Lystra had never walked. It seems like this (walking) was something he greatly desired but had never experienced. He listened as Paul spoke. I am not sure of the exact content of Paul’s message, but presumably he was sharing how Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Savior of the world. The writer of Acts, Dr. Luke, states that Paul looked intently at this man and could recognize (perhaps discern is another word we could use here) that this man really believed he could be healed.
There’s a lot to unpack here. It says “the man had faith to be healed.” Luke is saying that this man really believed that Jesus could heal him. He had no doubt in his mind. He possessed this faith that Jesus could and would heal him.
Another take away, and perhaps the main idea of my blog is that Paul took notice of him. He looked intently or directly at him. I don’t know about you, but I have had times when I have noticed people who had some type of need and then I either looked away or walked away on to other things. Yet, if we will pause and notice others, maybe even walk towards that person and ask the initial question or the extra question, I believe we will witness God doing miraculous things. But we need to pause and take notice.
A. I have experienced this as well. Yes, I have had times when I looked away but I have also had other times when I took notice, asked the initial or extra question and witnessed God doing great things. This past weekend while preaching, I knew in my heart (discernment) that there was one who was on the cusp of asking Christ to be their Savior. At the conclusion of the message that person prayed to receive Christ.
I also had opportunity to pray with another person about a variety of needs. I prayed. We then talked a little more and I realized there was more clarity provided to me. I then prayed again with this person and the Lord gave us both a reassurance and a sense of His peace.
P. Thank you Father for your word today. Thank you Jesus for such a complete salvation (eternity, healing and deliverance). Holy Spirit, fill me and guide me to recognize these divine opportunities by looking intently upon others, asking the initial or extra question and then watching God do what only He can do. In Jesus name.
