1 Corinthians 2:5
Today I read the story about Peter and John healing the lame man (Acts 3:1-10). He was asking for help - financial help. Peter directed his gaze intently at him (Acts 3:4 AMP). What was he seeing? What was he thinking? Was he listening prayerfully to his Lord? Peter directed his gaze intently at him. Apparently, the man was not looking at them. Were his eyes downcast in shame?
He was a beggar, dependent on others for everything; including his way of getting to the gate where he could beg for alms; his whole life must have felt driven by begging. As he sat by the gate, all he'd see were the legs of those passing by. It would have been physically uncomfortable, even painful, to continually look up all day long into faces going by; it was much easier to keep his head and eyes down. What a pitiful, shame-filled life he must have lived with. No wonder he didn't meet their eyes! I can't even begin to imagine how he must have felt, how isolated, lonely, even invisible. It would seem everyone was so used to his presence and cries for alms, that they just paid no attention to this daily ritual. This man, physically lame and emotionally crippled, must have had no sense of belonging, of being loved and cared for, of even being heard or seen - until Peter and John came by.
The wisdom of man, the power of God: the wisdom of man is familiar, feels safe, more immediate and present; the power of God is mysterious, beyond ourselves, on its own timetable, beyond our control. The wisdom of man would say that the life of the lame beggar was the best he could hope for. The power of God said, "rise up and walk!" The power of God looked and saw this invisible man, restored him, restored his identity, his person-hood.
Peter said to the man, "Look at us." Eye contact with another for perhaps the first time in who knows how long? Peter took him by the hand - the power of touch, human contact, fellowship. Immediately the use of his legs is restored; no, not restored, created! The man had been lame from birth. Suddenly, he was able to walk, to leap; and, perhaps for the first time, he was able to enter the temple with friends walking and leaping and praising God (Acts 3:8). What a beautiful picture! This once isolated, ignored, avoided, crippled man is entering the temple with his new found brothers, praising the God who never overlooks anyone.
The wisdom of man is a gift from God but is limited and, in our fallen state, imperfect and flawed. The power of God is limitless, perfect, pure. Trusting in the wisdom of man can leave us anxious, fearful, uncertain, even misdirected. Waiting on and trusting in the power of God brings life, light and far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).
We, like the man in Acts, are all crippled to some extent; we can feel bound by circumstances that seem beyond our control. May we trust in God more and more, wait patiently for him, be willing to step out of God's way and watch him work. As in this story, the more dire the circumstances, the greater the opportunity for God to be glorified. We can trust him. We can loosen our grip on the things or circumstances that have us the most anxious or fearful.
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.
Psalm 115:9-13
