Acts 3
Rebecca Lightfoot
N Acts 3:1-16, Peter&John are on their way to a temple when they see a man that had been lame from birth being carried to the gate of the temple.His friends or family would daily carry him to the gate,& lay him there so he could ask for money&support.When he asks Peter&John,they tell him that they don’t have what he is asking for,but they do have something else(“but what I do have I give to you.In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,rise up & walk”.)When Peter “fixed his eyes on” the man,he knew he did not have what he was asking for.But by God’s Sovereignty and through Jesus Christ,Peter had at that moment what the man NEEDED.During their time w Jesus,they had learned that there were no coincidences,& that to see beyond “coincidences” they needed to remember how Jesus interacted w people that were in despair &/or desperately asking for something.Jesus saw what the true need was n peoples live,& addressed that.He heard what came out of their mouths,but He also knew what was the desperate desire of their heart.When a paralytic is brought to Jesus(Matt9:4-5;Mark2:4-5),He sees beyond the physical and into the desperate need n this man’s life,& Jesus says,”your sins are forgiven”.Jesus does end up healing the man’s infirmity,but this was far down the list of significance for this man...this man’s desperate need was to be healed from the eternally terminal disease of sin.Another time,when Jesus is sitting by a well in Samaria,a woman comes by.Jesus knows the deepest need in this woman’s life.She has been seeking to fill an emptiness in her life by having relationships w men.Of course this woman had many other needs,but the most desperate was the emptiness in her soul/her heart.Jesus sees beyond all of her other needs,& goes directly to the PRIMARY NEED of her life(John4:1-44),and her life is turned around.She now has a Hope and an Enthusiasm that changes her life,AND impacts those around her!The Apostles had learned from Jesus,that many times there are more significant needs n our lives than what we may be asking for.That many times what we ask for may not precisely address what we truly need.Many times when we pray over and over about something,and don’t see or hear anything...it might be time that we talk w The Lord about what may be our deeper more desperate needs,& talk w Jesus about deeper heart&soul issues and trueing our hearts&souls up with His Word&Spirit so our ears/heart are more likely to hear His response.Instead,we may grow frustrated w praying...& even disillusioned.Dear Lord Jesus,this is so very true n my life...the many things that r consistently part of my conversations w You,and the fact that I seldom seek beyond these things to listen to what You are saying to me about these or other things that may b more needed/more desperate n my life.!Help me to not get frustrated,nor disillusioned...but draw me to deeper conversations w You about things that may be more important/more significant!