Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, June 6, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Peter is pointing away from himself. He’s the one who just worked a miracle, and the people are all in awe, but he takes this as an opportunity to share the message of Jesus’ love.
During a particularly rough patch in my life, I was sharing with a group of acquaintances in a grad school group about what was going on with me. One of my (much younger) classmates looked at me with a sort of awe and said something the effect of, “I don’t know how you can be dealing with all of this and be so calm about it. I don’t think I would be able to do that.”
I could have taken that as an ego stroke, or even talked about how my hard work in spiritual growth had made the difference (though there is something to that). Instead, I went right for the truth—I couldn’t do any of it on my own. If I wasn’t working a diligent recovery program, which kept me daily connected to God and in a state of surrender of the things I can’t control and trust that God can handle it, there’s no way I would have been able to deal with the drama and chaos around me (or the drama and chaos that has cropped up now and then since). There was no miracle on my part. It’s God’s love and power that carries me through whatever issues I am facing today, and God who leads me in a spirit of healing and wholeness.
When has God helped me weather a challenging time in my life?
