We have all met doubters. They will doubt any story we tell them even when the facts are right in front of them. In order for any of us to ever accomplish anything we first have to believe it is possible.
Acts 14:8-10 MSG
Paul and Barnabas were at Lystra doing what they were called to do which was to share the good news of Jesus. They came upon a crippled man who could not walk and had been crippled since his birth. This man heard Paul talking. Paul looking him in the eye saw that he was ripe for God’s work and ready to believe. He told the man to get up and walk and he did as though he were never a crippled man!
I love that Paul saw him as who he could be, not as who he appeared to be. Paul saw he was ripe for God’s work and ready to believe. He did not see him as crippled or just as an opportunity to heal. He saw a man who was ripe for ministry and eager to believe.
That’s how God saw us before we were saved. God saw who we could be not who we were, crippled by sin. He, God, saw us ripe for God’s work and ready to believe! We were not created to be doubters but believers. God is saying to us today “Up on your feet!” and we respond by believing. No longer crippled we can jump up to do God’s work as if we have been doing it our entire lives!