She Reads Truth: Acts Re-Post
Hey friends! Today I want to invite you to a Bible study moment in the book of Acts! This last Monday, I wrote a devotional for She Reads Truth’s Acts reading plan, linked here in case you missed it. You can also read it down below; I recommend you read Acts 9:32-43 and Mark 5:21-43 first. Let me pray for you before you read!
God, thank you for this reader, who is hungry for you and your word. We are so grateful that you are holy and kind, that you instill worthy things like the desire for scripture in us. We know that every good thing in us is from you, and so we give you praise! We ask that you bless this reader’s time in your Word and with your Spirit. Teach us what we need to hear and remember from this passage and devotional. Keep our hearts soft and open to you as you continue leading us in the way everlasting. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Miracles are beautiful. I still remember the first one I experienced: My fourth grade class’s guinea pig gave birth prematurely and against all odds, one little baby lived. She was the size of a jelly bean, but we were in awe, and our class agreed to name her Miracle Faith. Her little life drew us closer together.
Maybe you’ve also longed for a miracle, and—dare I say—one of greater significance than a class pet. We’ve all ached for healing in one way or another. Like the widows who loved Dorcas, we may long to see a dark situation transformed by the light. Like Aeneas who endured years of long-suffering, we may feel forgotten and disappointed. The miracle has not come and yet we remain, hurt and confused, thinking, “What do we do with this?”
In our hurt and confusion, we can forget that there is more at stake than the outcome we are praying for.
We serve a God who uses miracles to heal not only our bodies but also our souls, and the souls of those connected to us. Aeneas, Dorcas, and their communities were not just witnesses of physical miracles; they were witnesses of Jesus’s saving power. When Aeneas heard “Jesus Christ heals you” and made his bed, his body was healed and all of Lydda and Sharon surrendered their lives to the Lord in response (Acts 9:34–35). Through Dorcas’s miracle, she was restored to life andmany people in Joppa believed in God (v.42). In the Gospel of Mark, the bleeding woman’s physical affliction ceased and she received a new identity in Christ after years of living alone, unclean and shunned (Mark 5:34).
It can be tempting to believe we are alone in our suffering as we wait, longing for a miracle. Our timing, our knowledge, and our plans are certainly not the Lord’s, and it won’t always make sense to us. But we can know this: Our longing is not ultimately for the miracle. It’s for the one the miracle points to—Jesus, the wellspring of life and the light of the world (Psalm 36:9).
These miracles in these stories point to the living God who delights in making us spiritually alive and restored for eternity. Whether or not the miracle we pray for comes, may we recognize the miracle that has already changed our lives forever—the salvation of our soul. In Christ, we too have received what we were most longing for.
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As always, let me know in the comments how I can be praying for you this week!
