Expect a Miracle

The man, whom I will call Benjamin, could not walk.

He had never been able to walk, had never taken a step in his life, and he must have awakened that eventful morning with absolutely no idea that this day would be any different from all those that had preceded it. He was wrong. Benjamin was carried by someone to the Beautiful Gate, as he was every morning, and deposited there to beg for money.

It would not have crossed his mind to ask for anything more, as money was his perceived need. Healing—an impossible thing—was not likely to have been on his radar at all. Peter and John were passing by on their way to the temple.

They saw him; he saw them and asked for money.

Oh, Benjamin! How I would love to have been looking on during those next few minutes. Benjamin was about to be the recipient of a miracle unlike any most had ever seen before or dreamed of. After commanding his full attention, Peter informed Benjamin that he had no money, but what he did have, he would gladly give. “Get up and walk,” he said.

And Benjamin did. Lame from birth—can you imagine? But there was no learning curve for Benjamin. He was told to walk, and he walked.

No tottering about, no falling down, and no time needed to learn things like balance and direction and speed and coordinating arm and leg movement.

In fact, we are told he leaped (verse 8). What a view that presents to my mind’s eye! We, too, awaken each morning to a new day filled with infinite possibilities—some that we have thought of and hoped for and some that have never occurred to us.

Just think what God is capable of doing for us and what He will do for us if we let Him. On the last morning of Benjamin’s paralysis, he did not dream of putting himself to bed that night. Neither do we know what is in store for us on any given day.

Let us be prepared for the unexpected. In fact, let us expect a miracle.

Carolyn K. Karlstrom