I went home Sunday night and had an extremely long night. I couldn’t sleep. I kept tossing and turning and my mind was just racing. I thought through my life and all the "nothing" moments it has contained. All the "stuff" that has happened in my life that would drive people to a place of nothingness. I made a list and then I sat back and thought how sad it was that I could list so many things that would drive a person to nothingness that has actually happened in my family’s life and I’m not even 30 years old yet.
I have to be honest here. I struggled Sunday night with the altar call, because while in many ways we have hit a place of nothingness, I haven’t looked at it that way. For the last few years I may feel burdened and be going through trials, but I have chosen to say, "God knows my trials and He is handling my situation". I haven’t "looked" at my nothingness.
As the night went on, I finally fell asleep around 4:00 AM. I woke up again around 6:00 remembering a song that I learned years ago in a Vacation Bible School I attended. The theme that year was Peter Rock. There was a song about when Peter met the lame man at the temple gate. The words were, "silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."
I haven’t sung that song in years but it came back to my memory that morning. Why, so God could remind me of something. I started thinking about the miracles that are in the Bible. Not only were the people down to nothing, but they were asked to do something in order to see the fruit of the miracle. They were asked to actually take steps in faith in order for their miracle to occur.
Acts 3:6-8 (NKJV)
Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God
The lame man at the temple gate as referred to in the VBS song, for example, had to stand up and walk. Now, I realize that the Holy Spirit made it possible (thus the miracle that occurred) but the lame man had to trust the Holy Spirit enough and step out in faith to stand up and start walking.
Sometimes we get down to nothing and we want to see a miracle. But how often do we just wallow in our nothingness, waiting on a miracle, but we just want to sit there and DO nothing. I have been guilty of this myself at times. If you are waiting on a miracle, don’t do it sitting down. Stand up!! Take a step!!
There are two other points I want to make about this particular miracle in the Bible. This particular miracle happened after Jesus had ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit. Guess what that means? Miracles can still happen! They didn’t ascend into heaven with Jesus. They are just as real today as they were in the Bible. I also really love "And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up"! Peter, "prayed" or asserted his authority that was given to him and started this miracle in motion, but he didn’t stop there. He showed by his actions that he believed that the man would be healed and he helped the man up. He didn’t just pray for him from a distance. He made a personal connection with the man.
This blog post today I am writing as much for myself as anything. First to remind myself that while we should trust the Lord to work in our lives and our situations, we have to sometimes actually acknowledge the truth of where we are in life, even if where we are is the lowest place we can imagine being. Secondly, to remind myself that when I’m waiting for a miracle, I have to be willing to move myself. I have to be willing to stand up and walk! I can’t ask to be healed of being lame and just stay seated on the ground when my miracle comes. RISE UP AND WALK!!!
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