Glorious Hope (Part 3)

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.- Acts 14:8-10

In Luke 13, Jesus came to the synagogue to preach and there was a woman who was bent over; not for eighteen months, but eighteen years. And you wonder how a woman could still manage to come to the temple despite her painful and shameful condition. While there are some people today who have trouble for about a year or two and they allow that to take them away from God's presence; this woman kept coming to the temple because she had hope (Luke 13:11).

 The Bible says she could not lift herself up, yet, she kept coming to the temple. She came because she must have wondered, 'who else will I serve than God? I Do not know why I am this way, I Do not know how or when I would be healed but I better serve the One who created me no matter the ridicule or shame'.  Though it is beyond the comprehension of anyone, one day, this woman met the Word in flesh and when Jesus saw her, He called her and healed her. (Luke 13:12-13). You will glorify God in Jesus name.

Do not allow the enemy to break your focus, what keeps you coming to God despite the contrary challenge is hope. There is no room for discouragement; do not give in to desperation or frustration.

Incidentally, the enemy talks to all of us; after all, you cannot stop the devil from talking. Every great leader has been discouraged at one time or the other but what makes the difference in their lives is that they refused to give in to discouragement. They refuse to be bothered about what the devil is saying. The devil speaks to us in the stronghold of our minds to bring discouragement. The more we think about our problems, the more we come to desperation and hopelessness; but the more we think about God, the more we rejoice and ignore whatever the enemies are doing. By doing this, the word of God will come to reality in our lives.

In Acts 14, Apostle Paul was ministering at Lystra and there was a man who had health challenges; not for eighteen years but from the womb. His problem was as old as his age. In those days, it was believed that anyone born with a deformity must have existed before and was full of evil. (see John 9:2)

Think of this, why come to the church if you are hopeless? Do not just come to church to show face or to mark attendance; come with hope. Come because you know God's word is the solution to every life challenge; let faith in God's word meet hope in you so it can produce a miracle. Though we do not know how he got to where Paul was preaching despite the fact that he had never walked, he dragged himself to where Paul was preaching. It was not certain he came for healing; you can be sure he came just to hear the word of God and that day, he was hearing from a man who was anointed for miracle.

The eye is the window to your mind; this cripple man was focused on Paul, he didn't allow anything or anyone to distract his attention. How did he get his faith? Faith came through the preaching and the preaching met hope in him. How do we know faith met hope in him? See Vs 10. He did the possible and God, whose word is infallible, did the impossible. Whenever faith meets hope in you, miracle is inevitable. May the God of heaven and earth be glorified in your life, Amen.