Beyond Survival

imagesActs 3:6 Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’”

He had been a cripple for over forty years. He depended on others to literally carry him every day to his begging spot at the Temple gate. He had no other option. His full-time employment consisted of unemployment. He was forced to rely on the pity of man, which has always been at best—shaky. When Peter and John came by he asked them for a coin. What he received was an overflowing bank vault…

This crippled-from-birth man was instantly transformed into an athlete…“walking and jumping and praising God” (Acts 3:9).

Chronic conditions have a way of crippling our expectations, don’t they? Whether physical illness or emotional distress, after a while our hope reduces to nothing more than mere survival. But for this man on this day, meager expectations exploded into a miracle. He received healing and Peter made sure everyone knew why. It was not because of any power or godliness he or John possessed. The man was healed “by faith in the name of Jesus” (Acts 3:16).

God intends our seasons of waiting to produce something more than a survival mindset. They are opportune times for our faith to develop. Times where we learn not to limit God. Not to shortchange his love. Not to second guess his plans. No matter what the source of delay, the choice to keep relying on God in our circumstances provides the architectural integrity we need to expand our house of trust.

John and Peter’s daring faith landed them in prison. But rather than weakening their confidence, they were emboldened even more. As a result, the “bank vault” offered to the crippled man became accessible to over 5,000 new believers! (4:4). We’ll never know how great our faith can grow unless we give it the opportunity.

So if you are living in survival mode, be assured that God wants to use your situation—its difficulty as well as its duration— to construct something better than silver. Better than gold. Something that comes from Jesus of Nazareth….

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