“Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11-12, NKJV).
During a recent visit to the doctor, my 6-month-old son was diagnosed with a chromosomal deficiency. My heart immediately ached for my son’s well-being, and while I would like to say my first instinct was to turn to God in prayer, the oh-so-human side of me surfaced with a multitude of questions. What does this mean? What will it look like in the long run?
After the list of “what” questions, the “why” questions began to take over. Why my son? Why this deficiency? Why? Why? Why?
I began to realize how negative the “why” questions were becoming, and knew that ultimately I was questioning God—who wonderfully and fearfully made my son. I began to take control over my thoughts and cry out to God. I reflected on the many promises of God for healing and the miracles that happened daily throughout the New Testament and still happen today.
Acts 19 says that after two years, Paul left Ephesus and “all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus” (v. 10). Paul spent much of his time there teaching and preaching, and moving in the power of God. It was in that power that was so real in his life that the evidence of “unusual miracles” was known. People took handkerchiefs and aprons from him to the sick so they would be healed.
I want to see that power at work in my son’s life. It is the miraculous that I am contending for, and the testimony that will follow, so that all may hear the Word of the Lord. This is what we are called to do as believers and followers of Christ; this is what we were made to do as we reach the harvest.
I am contending for unusual miracles. Are you?
By: Lisa Penberthy, Operations Director for the Foursquare National Church Office
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