Acts 13:1-12
Be still: Lord help us to read your Word closely to get an accurate picture of your character. Amen
Read: Acts 13:1-12
'Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.'
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. (v11)
Encounter: I can imagine that I’m not the only one who read this passage and thought – yikes! As with yesterday’s passage, if read without attention to detail, the events can seem unkind or even petty. My first thought was that it’s not kind to pray for our enemies to go blind! But, upon further inspection, Paul spoke those words while he was filled with the Spirit (v9) so the words were actually from God. And the power to temporarily blind Elymas, the sorcerer, was also God’s not Paul’s.
Although he was used by God to deliver that judgment, I wonder if Paul saw himself in Elymas at that moment. Paul, too, had previously stood in the way of the gospel, and God also temporarily made him blind – to get his attention. The result was he believed, found salvation and stopped killing people. A dramatic life-transformation! I wonder if Paul hoped for something similar for Elymas, that the rebuke would lead to a changed life.
It’s interesting that God used pure power to reveal himself to the sorcerer. God used a medium the man understood, to show his sovereignty. It reads as harsh punishment but as well as removing the blockage to the proconsul's faith, Elymas’ blindness could be his own strange invitation to believe in God’s power and truth, and leave his old ways behind.
Nobody, myself included, likes negative consequences for their actions. But applied justly and rightly, they are helpful signs that we’re going the wrong way and should change direction quickly. If that initial direction was towards death, then that sign to turn around becomes an act of mercy.
Apply: Are there areas in your life where God may be showing you that you’re going the wrong way and need to change direction? If so there’s no shame in that, his warning is an act of mercy. Repent and ask for his help to change.
Devotion: Abba, thank you that you care so much about us. Help us to see that care, even when you correct us.