Saturday, 30 September 2023
“He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.”
Don’t let the weakness of your body or the difficulties of life discourage you from having faith!
When reading this Bible passage to do you notice something strange? At first I didn’t, but then it clicked. Stop at “Paul looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith.” How could he have seen something that is unseen?
When preaching, Paul wasn’t not discouraged by the earthly things that were so easy to see. He wasn’t discouraged by the sight of a man who couldn’t use his feet—who had been crippled since his birth. He wasn’t discouraged by the fact that being crippled from birth meant that this man had never walked and would probably never walk.
Instead, Paul saw a man God wanted to heal, who had faith to believe that Jesus would heal him. Paul acted on what he saw—faith—choosing not to be discouraged by what was so obvious to the naked eye and called the man to stand up. The man began walking—for the first time in his life!
According to Paul, you will be discouraged if you fix your eyes on what is seen (the things in this physical world). In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul mentions at least two things that can discourage you: 1) the difficult experiences of life (vv. 1,7-11), and 2) your aging, failing body (vv. 16-18).
Don’t let your aging body or the troubles you experience discourage you from fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. Don’t let other people’s ailing bodies or the troubles they have, discourage you from fixing your eyes on Jesus, seeing the unseen (the spiritual issues involved), and acting in faith.
For the iPhone app and more from John North and Ambassadors For Christ International, click here.
