“He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed, and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.” Acts 14:9-10.
Paul was speaking about Jesus to a crowd of people in Lystra when he noticed a crippled man listening intently as he spoke. Paul noticed something different about this man and looked directly at him. Paul saw that there was the seed of faith in this crippled man, and he commanded the man to stand up on his feet. At that, the man, who had not walked in his lifetime, “jumped up and began to walk.”
This miracle is amazing in many ways. One way that I would like to mention in particular, is the fact that this man’s muscles had never been developed to enable him to walk. Plus, this man had never experienced what it was like to walk, yet he immediately started walking around as if he had done so for his whole life. This truly was amazing! All this happened because Paul saw that this man had faith.
As I thought about this, I realized that when I talk to people, I do not look at them with eyes to see the faith within each person. I am convicted, and realize that I need to look for the seed of faith in those I come into contact with. I want to be aware of God’s activity in the lives of those around me, and I want to speak up about what I notice in others.
Questions to consider: How do you look at those around you? Have you ever seen that seed of faith in someone and spoke to them about it? What was that experience like?
Prayer: Father, may I have eyes to see the seed of faith in those around me? Please help me to see Your activity in their lives and to speak encouraging words to them regarding Your plans for their lives. Amen.
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