27th Mar 26 | 16:08
Studies by Book
03 Acts 09 32-43 THE MINISTRY OF PETER 20 Acts 09 40-41 The glory of God
📖 Acts 09:32-43
20 – Mon17Jun2024 – *The glory of God* - _Acts 09:32-43_ – THE MINISTRY OF PETER – _John 17:22_
_Acts 9:40-41 But Peter put them all out, 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) Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive._
Peter prayed. Peter was positionally in the right place for the Lord to do a miracle. He knew that he belonged to God and was in God's habitat. Peter was under no pressure to prove himself. His identity, security and his authority were in God. God was all that mattered in his life and nothing else. This is something that we must come back to again and again. We tend to drift away from God's habitat and are inclined to be on our own.
Secondly, Peter was committing the situation to God. “Lord, You know the situation and You O God are bringing Tabitha back to life to complete Your purposes through her.” We are to always pray for God’s purposes in a situation. We know that *God's purpose is to bring about His Shalom*, which is His fullness of life. This is where we receive assurance from God on how the Lord is working out His way into the crisis.
Then, we, connect with God’s glory. Let His glory be made manifest in the situation. We are always moving in His glory.
After Peter prayed, he said to the body, "Tabitha, arise.". What we need to do or speak into a situation is from the Lord. In Lydda, Peter told, Aeneas, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.". It is the Lord who will direct us on what we must speak or do in every situation. We must be Holy Spirit-led to discern the mind of the Spirit. There is no formula. There are no set ways. Will we learn to be Holy Spirit-led in all situations?
We see an immediate miracle taking place. At the word of Peter, Tabitha opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. The Lord intervened powerfully.
We may wonder at this miracle, but all of us are experiencing miracles even today. We have prayed over situations and we have seen how God has brought about a great solution and deliverance that we did not expect. Therefore, let us not pass over this miracle as something that is beyond us and walk away. If this happened through Peter, this can happen through the weakest of saints. It is God.
Let us always be ready to meet every eventuality in the move of the Holy Spirit. Let us keep those three steps before us. Remember your position in the habitat of God, commit the situation into God’s hands for His purposes, and be overwhelmed by His glory. It is God’s glory that must manifest.
Peter gave his hand to Tabitha and lifted her up. With Aeneas, Peter told him to arise and make his bed. This was how the Holy Spirit directed Peter. We see how each situation differs and the Lord’s ways are unique.
Tabitha saw Peter and she sat up. She then gave her hand to Peter for him to lift her up. Tabitha must have been experiencing the most joyous moment of her life. She would have heard much about Peter, but may not have had a personal encounter with him. Now, Peter was at her bedside and asking her to get up. She would have been thrilled beyond words and as soon as Peter gave her his hand, she was ready to hold his hand and rise.
When the Lord does miracles in our lives, He also gives us some very special moments. Moments that we would have never expected in life. These are the distinct and peculiar ways by which the Lord shows His love for us. The Lord was revealing His love for Tabitha to her and she would have been overwhelmed. All of us need these special moments in life and the Lord does give us these occasions. We must rejoice and thank the Lord for His wonderful ways in our lives.
Then Peter presented Tabitha alive to the believers in Joppa. What a moment this must have been for everyone! Tabitha, who was close to them and had a deep influence in their lives was once again with them. They had considered her dead, but now she was alive and well, and with them again. The Lord blessed Tabitha, but the Lord also blessed the whole church in Joppa. This is the glory of God. His ways are glorious.
It is difficult for us to expect the glory of God to descend in our context. What we see is all the sadness, but it is in this predicament that the Lord desires to use His church to manifest His glory. Are we willing to believe and operate in the purposes of God? Or are we accepting our restrictive circumstances as the norm? Have we reached a stage where we do not expect the intervention of God? Has the devil cheated us to live only in our shallowness and despondency?
Will we this moment look up to God and ask Him to bring the shift in us that we become people of His glory? This is what the Lord desires for us. _John 17:22 And *the glory which You gave Me I have given them*, that they may be one just as We are one:_