Hey, This Isn't What I Asked For!

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. (Acts 3:6-8)

Do you recognize the movement of God in your life?

When the man lying at the gate saw Peter and John, he raised his hands and begged for alms. Born lame, begging for money was the only life this man knew. It was all he understood. That was the way of the culture; he could not take care of himself, so he lay by the temple gate and asked the children of God to help him. When they noticed him and stopped, the man had no expectation beyond the usual: that they would provide him with whatever they had available to give him, and be on their way. 

Instead, they gave him much more. They gave him a chance. A new life. And, as we see in verse 8, this formerly lame beggar responded appropriately. 

I wonder how many of us would have fallen back down, content to maintain the status quo. How often have we begged God for something, only to have Him respond in a way so much bigger than we had dared hope? And how often does that happen, but we reject the gift because it wasn't what we asked for?

Can you imagine what it would have looked like if the lame man had rejected this healing? "Hey, wait a minute, guys! I don't know how to do anything but beg! What am I gonna do now?!" He would have seemed pretty ungrateful, right?

Yet, how often do we say the same thing to God? "That's not what I asked for, God. What am I gonna do with this?"

Trust God. Trust that He knows His plan for you, and that it's better than you could ever plan for yourself. Trust that whatever happens will be to His glory. If you have the faith to ask, have the faith, too, to accept His answer, whatever it is, and to praise Him for the answering. 

Learn to understand that God will bless in His own way, and that His way is far superior to our own, and you will find yourself blessed beyond measure.