Great Expectations

"So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them."
Acts 3:5

The story of the blind man who was healed at the temple gate called Beautiful, is the first recorded healing after the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the early church. It is interesting that this man had laid in the same spot for years. Jesus would have passed by him on his way to the temple. The disciples no doubt, had walked by him many times as well. Yet no healing had come to the blind man. What was different? Why was this the appointed time?
    I'm not sure that anyone, any scholar can answer the questions surrounding this man's healing. But there is one thing that strikes me. The man was expecting something. Clearly, he was not expecting to be healed. Likely, he was expecting money. He was a beggar and this was his only way to earn money to live. Still the idea of expectation is vital in the process of people receiving blessing, healing, and supernatural intervention in their lives.
    I wonder if we have become so numb that we no longer expect much from God. If we are content to live a "normal" Christian life, maybe we fall short of the great things that God has for us. God used the healing of the blind man to confirm his Word. There were rumblings in the city about the birth of the early church. There had been a commotion and a great number of people began to follow. When the man was healed, he walked, jumped, and praised God. Clearly the people who were going into the temple that day were impacted by the miracle that had taken place. I am convinced that when Peter and John spoke to the man, they fully expected him to be healed, and he was.
    Let's make a new commitment to expect great things from God. Expectation is a central ingredient of faith. If we truly have faith, believing in God's ability to do anything, then we must expect him to do great things. These are the ingredients of mountain moving faith. Today, there seems to be more faith in doctors and the medical profession than there is in the Great Physician. It's time to change. It's time to expect. It's time to receive from God. When these things are in place, God's Word will be confirmed and many will believe. This is God's blessing. This is the time of the harvest. We have great expectations because we have a great God.