READING: Esther 1-2, Acts 5:1-21
“As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.”
Acts 5:15
It’s one of those Bible stories that you read once, and then re-read just to make sure you read it properly. The disciples were spreading the gospel through Jerusalem, and “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (Acts 5:14). Even after opposition developed, the believers just continued preaching the Word, and God continued blessing their work. So great were the miracles they worked that the people continued bringing sick and the demon possessed to them, and “all of them were healed” (Acts 5:16).
Some, in fact, brought the sick to them and laid them on mats in the streets in hopes that “at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by” (Acts 5:15). The text doesn’t say that the shadow actually produced healings, but the implication is that the power of God was so great in Peter that just being near him evidenced God’s presence. Even in just his shadow.
Just his shadow.
That’s amazing to me. This is the fisherman who denied even knowing Jesus. God had not only forgiven him, but had now chosen to use him in a mighty way. The apostle who had tried to blend into the crowd in his denial now so walked with God that the crowds came to him. In no way could he deny knowing Jesus if even his shadow gave evidence of it. God apparently just oozed out of him.
Maybe you know believers like that. You know when they walk in the room that they know God. Their actions, their words, their faces – they illustrate God living in them. It’s as if they almost could not deny it, given the strength of God’s presence in their lives. You’re challenged to walk more intentionally with God just because you’ve been around them. That’s the way that I want to live.
ACTION STEPS:
- Answer this question for yourself today: does even your shadow show the power of God?
- Choose to walk with God more faithfully today than you have ever done.
PRAYER: “God, help me to walk with you like Peter did.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Esther 3-5, Acts 5:22-42
