In the busyness of everyday, most often survival is the goal. If I could survive comfortably without too much struggle or stress, even better!
Getting through the day, my personal requests of God are often focused on what is right in front of me. How am I going to fix a broken appliance? How am I going to navigate a difficult situation or relationship? How am I supposed to find time to do something restful or fun?
Thrown in front of us on social media ads or TV commercials are offers of exercise, vitamins, time management plans and get rich quick schemes that appear to be the solution. We’re searching for a little something to make life easier or maybe even forget our problems all together.
When we take our struggles to God in prayer, we often ask that he remove the situation, take away the pain or provide us the money. We can only see as far as our immediate need and our comfort in the process is typically our priority.
But God is so much bigger than our expectations.
In Acts 3, there’s a story about a man who couldn’t walk.
From the time he was born, his legs had never worked. He had always been dependent on another person to take care of what he needed. His job was to sit at the gate of the Temple and ask people to give him money for survival. He couldn’t even get there himself. The scripture tells us that someone had to “place” him there. They probably had discussions every day about the best time to get there and which was the best spot. He was a regular, the people who passed by knew him.
Then one day, two of Jesus’ disciples walked by. The man opened his mouth to request the same thing he asked hundreds of people day after day for years, hoping he would go home with enough to be able to eat dinner tonight.
Peter and John stopped and made sure he was paying attention by saying “Look at us”. I am sure the man was expecting they were going to give him a coin. Then he hears, “I don’t have silver or gold”. Hmmm.. he thinks.. Ok, well, maybe they’ve got some bread or a meal? Peter continues “but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Get up and walk!”
Peter reached for his hand and “at once” the man’s feet and ankles became strong. Legs that had not worked for his entire life were able to walk into the Temple and even leap!
The man had sat there day after day all of his life looking for a temporary fix. But God knew what he really needed, doing so much more for him than he could ever expected. He provided a way for him to live! Now, he could work and even have some fun. Getting places on his own? Talk about a time saver!
So often, we request a temporary fix from God, when He has the power and the resources to give us what we really need. He wants us to experience living to our full potential of his plan for us. Like this man who couldn’t walk, our journey is not always easy or comfortable, but God uses the struggles to help us grow. They give us the perspective to understand so when God does give us what we need, we are ready to use that gift in the way He planned.
The man who was well known by the people who passed by everyday saw him walking and were amazed. When God works in our life, he gives us a story to tell. The people around us are able to see how God has worked in us and hear what He has done.
What is weighing you down today? Have you only been asking for a quick fix or a temporary comfort? Ask God to give you strength for the journey. Ask him to use your current situation to prepare you for what is next and to bring you what He knows you need.
Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Read More in the God Is Bigger Series
God is Bigger Than My Expectations
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