Experience - Day 16

9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

Have you ever seen something with your eyes that your mind that was a trick, or must not be real?  Maybe a spouse or friend who you last knew was on the other side of the world, who comes home early to surprise you?  Or what about a sports team that was a huge underdog, yet rally’s for an unbelievable upset?  

I had this type of experience recently, but it wasn’t a good thing.  To make a long story short, I had accidentally taken someone else’s cell phone from the coffee shop I had been in earlier.  Turns out, I had already put my phone in my pocket, but when i stood up, another man put his phone down at my spot to save it.  Only problem is, I didn’t see him place it there, so when I looked down, I just assumed it was mine (I was jet lagged and tired, by the way).  I went to my car, that had a tire that was very low, and drove to a gas station to fix the tire.

However, the gas station I drove to had a broken air pump, so then I drove to the next nearest gas station, some five miles away.  Their pumped worked. I got out, was filling my tire, when a young man came up behind me, kept his distance, and asked if I had just been at that coffee shop.  I said I had.  Then he said he thinks I took his cell phone.
I was in complete disbelief.  I just stared at him for a moment, then reached into my pocket, pulled out my cell phone, and showed him.  It was mine.  He said are you sure, because we traced my phone to this location just now.  It still didn’t register.  Then all of a sudden it hit me, I opened the car door, looked in cupholder of the car, and there it was, a cell phone that was clearly not mine.

I am sure it took the people some time to realize that their eyes weren’t playing tricks on them, that this was, in fact, the lame beggar they had seen there for years.  Then, like the people who liked to crowd around Jesus, they wanted to see if this Peter and John had any other tricks up their sleeves.  Little did they know they were about to change the world.
And I love how the man who has been healed continues to cling to Peter and John.  Maybe he’s not quite sure if the healing will stick, or because he’s doing something he’s never done before (i.e. walking) he needs them to show him how.  Or maybe, and this is my favorite thought, maybe he clings to them because he knows that it was their gift of Jesus that made him whole.  Maybe you and I could learn a lesson from the lame beggar who was healed - never stop clinging to Jesus.

JOURNAL

1. Have you ever had something happened to you, something you witnessed, that you struggled to believe with your own eyes?
2. Who or what do you cling to when life is hard?
3. What is one way you could seek to cling to Jesus as you go about your day today?  Maybe it’s a verse you carry with you, or a phone call with a friend who you know will pray with you, or some time in prayer.