Will You Answer the Call?

Acts 9:38-39

“…”Please come at once!” Peter went with them, and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room.”

When I get a call from my dad, I can never predict what he is calling about. All I know is the call is coming from my dad’s cell phone. When I answer, I could either be greeted with good news or be swept into a computer issue, and I am the de facto help person. Either way, when my dad calls, I always answer, making sure to call him back if I miss the call because something may need my attention.

A short story in the last half of chapter 9 reveals Peter going to a town called Lydda, which is near Joppa. He goes and heals a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Because of this, all who heard about it turned to the Lord, the Bible says. Well, word travels fast when people start getting healed, and the news reaches nearby Joppa, where a woman who was a follower of Jesus had grown ill and passed away. Her name was Tabitha, and she went around doing good and helping the poor. She is also called a disciple, proving that the Holy Spirit works mightily through both men and women alike. The people of Joppa come to get Peter and beg him, “Please come!” We don’t know if Peter knew about the state of this woman. All we know is that he was ushered upstairs, where Tabitha was lying dead. Peter cleared the room and prayed, and Tabitha, raised from the dead, woke up and joined the others downstairs.

We sometimes do not know what we are being led into, just like when my dad calls. We can prepare and study, but the Lord leads us to places where only He knows what awaits. Peter was in this situation. He did not know what to expect. All he knew was that he was being led to a place where the Lord would have to show up.

If you find yourself moving in unknown directions, you can rest assured that the Lord is there. Isaiah 45:2 says, “I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” He will go “before you.” In other words, you won’t see the mountains He levels before you get there.

Today, pray and thank the Lord for leveling the mountains before you see them. If your way is difficult now, it might have been much worse had the Lord not moved the mountains and broken through the gates of bronze before you. Tabitha’s call is one we often hear. We must respond, like Peter did, and know that the Lord is already there.

The definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Even if you don’t see it, your faith should have the assurance that the Lord is there before you. We are called to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). What are you walking into, and is your faith leading the way?

Prayer: Father, I pray for strength in following Your lead. I pray that I walk by faith and not by sight when I do not understand things. When my path is foggy and unclear, I will trust in You and keep moving forward, knowing that You are already there and have moved the mountains. In Jesus’ name, amen.