and God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. [acts 19:11-12]
and God was doing extraordinary miracles
on first reading, it might be easy to read this and think—what an amazing man paul was! the word, however, is clear at the start that it was not paul doing the miracles, but the Lord. the word doesn’t give paul glory, it gives God glory.
when you have a great day, what do you usually think to yourself at the end of it? i often think, “this was a good one; i wish there were more like this,” or “this was a good one; i’ll have to make sure i have more days like this.” in both those thoughts, i’m attributing the good day to myself instead of to God. this may seem like nit-picking or over-spiritualizing, but i will encourage you with the words of God in the book of james: every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father (jas. 1:17a)
every good thing we see, every beautiful piece of God creation that brings us joy or awe, every breath and moment is a gift from God—a change to worship him in thankfulness for who he is and what he has done! Lord, teach us to live lives in thankful worship of you, giving you all the glory!
~ stephen hall