Do you ever get more than you asked for from God?
Whenever I ask Cameron for something, I don’t just get what I asked for; he usually goes above and beyond. For example, if I ask him to bring me a doughnut from the mall, I can expect him to come home with an entire box, so I have options. 🥰
In Acts 3, we meet a man who also gets more than he bargained for. He has been paralysed his entire life. Day in, day out, he is laid at the temple gate to beg. His expectation is small: a coin, enough to survive.
Then Peter and John pass by. When the man looks at them, Peter says something unexpected: “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (verse 6)
What follows is a miracle. The man jumps up, walks, and praises God. What he did not dare to hope for becomes reality.
Everyone is in awe, but Peter immediately shifts the focus. This is not their strength or piety, he says. This is Jesus. The crucified and risen Lord is the One who restores.
Peter also uses the opportunity to honestly confront his listeners with their part in Jesus’ death—and with God’s grace. “Repent,” he cries, “so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (verse 19).
Here we see reflected what Jesus did: bringing our weaknesses and guilt to light and simultaneously opening the door to renewal and restoration.
We are sometimes like the paralysed man. We ask for small solutions or quick fixes, while God wants to bring deep restoration. We focus on temporary relief, while Jesus wants to lift us up towards a new life.
Where do you expect only “a coin”, while God might want to give complete renewal?
