Fan the Flame - a Journey Through Actsഉദാഹരണം

Day 32 - Paul & Barnabas in Lystra & Derby

Welcome to the last chapter in the book of Acts… sorry, not really! But it might have been if in verse 19 Paul died, thankfully, he does not. What I find so interesting as I read through the scriptures is that I am almost numb to the severity of what is happening in each story. But this is a sombre tale: Paul, led and called by the Holy Spirit, goes to preach in the town of Lystra and is stoned to the brink of death. Did you notice that in the passage today?

Here, the author of Acts gives us a brief snapshot of a strange interaction in Lystra. We don't know the exact location where Paul was preaching, but wherever it was there was a man unable to walk listening to Paul speak. It was at this moment that Paul saw him and something about him suggested he had faith. Maybe he was intently leaning in to listen to Paul, or Paul simply had an unction of the Holy Spirit that urged him to see that there is something different about this man. So much so that in faith, Paul simply called out the man to stand up and be healed, and he was! This healing stirred up the crowd so much that their Greek and sacrificial culture provoked them to want to make a sacrifice to Paul. Paul tried to stop it. Then in walks some Jews from Antioch and Iconium where Paul has just been. It's clear from their persuasion that they don't like Paul and the gospel he preaches, and they win the zealous crowd over, and they take him out of the city and stone him to what they thought was death.

But Paul's disciples gather around him, and Paul gets up, walks back into the city, goes to sleep, and continues on his journey. What did the disciples do? Did they pray? Did they apply first aid? Was their presence in a circle that led to the healing of Paul? Was Paul healed, or did he remain very injured? We don’t know, but verse 22 speaks of how they continued in faith.

Unexpected things happen when we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. So, we can expect the unexpected. Paul had faith, saw faith in others, and walked in faith. His faith was not so rigid that he put God into a box of tradition. His faith shows us how to have one hand firmly holding onto God and the other one open, expecting the unexpected. How can you follow Paul's example with one hand holding onto God and one open, expecting the unexpected?

Let’s pray and ask the Lord to fan our hearts into flame today as we seek to obey Him. Pray today that God will give you the faith that Paul shows here. Pray for faith that allows you to hold firmly onto God with one hand and with the other open, ready to be led by faith into the unexpected.

Written by Dan Keevers