since lydda was near joppa, the disciples, hearing that peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “please come to us without delay.” so peter rose and went with them. and when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. all the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that dorcas made while she was with them. but peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “tabitha, arise.” and she opened her eyes, and when she saw peter she sat up. [acts 9:38-40]
another healing by the power of God through peter. these stories can cause so many different emotions to rise up:
- encouragement as the reader is reminded of God’s power over sickness and death.
- discouragement in a reader who has been praying for months or years without healing.
- hope that healing is possible.
- disbelief that this could ever happen.
and so on.
we often talk about reading the word of God as just that, the living word of God, and not as a history book. but just for today, i want to read this encounter as from a historical writing. as christians, we believe that the bible is 100% true. if that’s the case, then this account of these events written by luke actually happened. many saw these events with their own eyes.
so today when we read the miracle of this passage, we have the opportunity to remove all emotion from it. it doesn’t matter if i feel like healing is possible, because i see it clearly happen in the bible. it doesn’t matter how i feel about the timeliness of God’s answer to my prayers, because his power is evident in this story and throughout the whole bible.
our God says he is all powerful and a miracle worker, and so he is.
Lord, may we see you for who you are today. not how we feel about you, and not how others see you. help us see your character, and help us to trust in your sovereignty as we come honestly before you.
amen!