Good morning, friends.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 4:22, “For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.”
As we know that Luke the physician is the author of the book of Acts, it comes as no surprise that he takes the time to mention not only that the cripple who was healed had been lame since before he was born, but that his condition had tormented him for over forty years. His clinically trained eyes probably noticed things about him that the casual passer-by, especially the ones who had seen and ignored him for so long, would have been oblivious to. And Luke doesn’t give his exact age, which the man would have willingly and excitedly proclaimed to all who asked. No, he simply says he was over forty. Now, I know things have changed in the 2,000 years since Jesus walked on earth. But even this very day, the age of forty still carries with it almost transcendent significance. And despite the attempts of modern pop culture to declare that fifty is the new forty, along with every other “this” that is the new “that,” the number 40 still sits there as a marker and a milestone that few can ignore. Yet, it’s not the only influencer that carries such a big stick. And frankly, many of us would gladly have to battle turning forty all over again than to wrestle with some of the things that have shackled or crippled us. More burdensome than aging are some of the emotional prisons we are trapped in. And worse, they haven’t wielded their scourge of torture only since getting older, but rather have been building and strengthening and tightening their grip on us for longer than we care to remember.
And the genius of their method is that in defeat and brokenness, we actually become accustomed to that which no other reasonable person would willingly tolerate. Our days and years of yesterdays turn into familiar todays, and eventually are all that we can expect of our tomorrows. But, if we can believe it, freedom and newness can be ours. If we can courageously put both our hands out for the Savior Jesus, if we can believe that the fear and uncertainty of change is worth enduring, that the unknown is better than the cruelly familiar, then Jesus has all that you can imagine, and more. Forty years? That’s nothing in the hands of the eternal Creator.
As we seek Him today, begin your next forty years experiencing the freedom and power of our loving Lord and Heavenly Father.
Have a terrific weekend.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
