David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 9:32-43

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. ³⁴ And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. ³⁵ And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶ Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. ³⁷ In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹ So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

When we teach pastors and church leaders about leadership we often resort to the tried and true axiom, “Just take the next step.” We say that because so very often we don’t know what the road ahead will bring, and we can be paralyzed with fear rather than emboldened with courageous faith to move forward. Even when we think we know what lies ahead, we must simply take the next step forward to reach our goal. For true progress in God’s kingdom or life itself is never achieved by means of a time warp. That’s the stuff of science fiction – emphasis on fiction.

Peter is embodying this in his mission trip to Lydda and Joppa. When he left for Lydda, he most likely did not know what awaited him there. He might have heard of Aeneas. But we have no indication that he had. He might have had in mind to perform miracles while there, but we’re not told that explicitly. Jesus had sent him and the other disciples out on more than one occasion to heal the sick and cast out demons and proclaim the kingdom of God was at hand. So it is likely that he had in mind that these things would happen. But there is no indication that he had any kind of detailed itinerary. He simply went.

There are people who live life that way, and often I admire them. They are spontaneous, unscripted, and able to pivot on a moment’s notice. They can go on vacation, leaving one day and heading out somewhere without knowing where. They arrive and find a place to stay, and head out the next morning to do the same. At least I’ve heard that such people exist. Most of us have a far different approach. We want to make sure we’ve got our agenda clearly outlined. Hotel reservations, tour tickets, sightseeing plans all laid out.

To some extent it’s good to live a well-planned life that way, with our weeks goals, appointments, and schedules all lined out. That way we don’t waste time. But as we plan our weeks, we do well to leave room for the Spirit of God to interrupt our plans and take us places we had not known of or planned on. Who knows what God may have planned for us? After all, God has prepared good works in advance for us to do, so that we may walk in them (cf. Ephesians 2:10). And in our well-planned weeks there will be times we simply must take the next step; do the next thing.

Peter did that when he went to Lydda and on to Joppa, and as a result a man who was previously paralyzed began taking his own steps. And a woman whose earthly walk seemed to have been ended, went on from there. May God order our days and our steps in his peace so that we walk in the good works he has prepared for us to do. So let’s just take the next step!