Does Your Faith Impact Others?

And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength (Acts 3:7 NKJV).

How amazing is this moment?  Think about where Peter was just a few Chapters earlier.  He didn’t even have enough faith to face up to a young servant girl in a courtyard.  Yet this same man who denied Christ, is now boldly putting out his hand to lift up the lame man and is expecting the miracle that is about to happen as if it has already happened.  This speaks volumes to validate the encounter that Peter had on the day of Pentecost where he was baptized by the Holy Spirit and began preaching and living a life that impacted the lives of everyone around him.  From the 3000 who found salvation through his first ever message to the ignition of faith in the heart of this man who had been lame from birth, Peter’s faith has been set on fire and is setting the faith of others ablaze as he steps out into the calling of Christ on his life.

It is interesting to think about the fact that when Peter got up that morning, he had no idea who he would run into during the course of his day.  Yet, because his mind and heart were synched with his eternal purpose, when he is approached by a man that has been sitting in the same spot, day after day, for who knows for how many years or how many times he had gone right by him previously, he now stops and seizes the moment to offer this man the opportunity to step into a new destiny.  We certainly don’t want to miss the fact of the man’s part in this drama either.  He could have scoffed at Peter and said, “Look, I’m just looking for a hand out – not a life change.”  But the fact was, this man was looking for more and it was the cry of his heart – the mustard seed of hope – that connected with Peter’s offer.  It was this tiny particle of faith that motivated him to put his hand in Peter’s and to make the attempt to stand – against all logic.   I mean think about it – the man had never stood in his entire life.  Why would he even attempt to do it now?  I have to believe it was something he saw in Peter’s eyes since the Bible records the fact that Peter “fixed his eyes” upon the man.  There was a conviction in Peter’s stare and an authority in his voice, that made this man believe beyond all logic that the impossible could happen. 

I am so convicted when I read about this story.   Am I even on the look out for someone who I might have encountered a million times before but is at the right time and place for a divine appointment.  What do people see in my eyes or hear in my voice when I encounter them in my day-to-day routine? 

This is a serious reminder that if I expect to impact the world around me I need to be more focused on the things that matter and less caught up in the things that don’t.