Times and purposes

There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralysed and had not been able to get out of bed for eight years. ‘Aeneas,’ Peter said to him, ‘Jesus Christ makes you well. Get up and make your bed.’ At once Aeneas got up. All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. (verses 33-35)

Read Acts 9:32-43

To Aeneas his healing must have seemed a blessing out of the blue. You can imagine how devastating it must have been for him when he was struck down by paralysis. For eight years he wasn’t able to get out of bed. What questions must have run through his head. There would have been the temptation to sink into despair. But then, one day, Peter came to the town of Lydda where Aeneas lived, and he was suddenly healed.

Everyone at some time in their life suffers a major reverse of some kind. These things are a consequence of sin and the fallen nature of creation. At the same time, we know that God uses these things for our good: to help us grow, to give others opportunities for service, to bring about his plans. Aeneas’s recovery, for instance, was a great witness and resulted in many people being saved.

My comfort in times of trouble and suffering is the knowledge that God loves me and that he works out his will for me according to his own times and purposes.

Dear God, grant me the wisdom and the patience to gear my life to your will and timing. Amen.

by Richard Hauser, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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