his ankles and feet were severely deformed. guess he thought church folk would be more generous, so he had friends that towed him there. but he always stayed outside the entrance. everyone who went through that beautiful entrance, if they bothered to look his way, would see the top of his head, worn pants and the palms of his hands. he was out of place, without a name. he didn’t need one. appearance was his name.
a new man came on the scene. caught him off guard. demanded appearance to look him in the eye. unashamed, this man admitted he didn’t have cash or food to give, but was willing to give something beyond the scope of expectation or hope. appearance was told to get up & walk.
yet he still sat there for a moment (sorting through doubt?). the man then reached for appearance’s right hand and helped him up. as he did so, appearance scrounged up just enough faith to do the same. that faith is what birthed a miracle.
feet & anklebones were perfectly fused back together, even strengthened! no physical therapy, no wrapping or raising above the heart 3 hours/day for 6 weeks. immediately he was seen dancing & jumping around. healing was instant! and where do you think he went first? straight inside that church where everyone who’d always passed and possibly pitied him now stared and stood ‘astounded‘.
reaching out for help, praying when it seems useless, these require faith. turning to God to be cleansed of our sins & admitting we’re at the end of ourselves, these require humility. but oh, watch out!! when we do, when we do this, wonderful times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord.
do you know of someone who’s name is also appearance? have you reached out to them yet?
what name do you call yourself when you’re alone? i’ve been calling myself ‘failure’ and ‘ugly’ this week, but my Jesus is bringing me healing and strength. as i repeat His words in my mind, they suck out those lies like muck spinning down a garbage disposal. tonight i prayed with confidence, signing out as ‘your daughter, loved, forgiven, fearfully & wonderfully made princess…, chelan’
i have a feeling appearance was known by a new name that day. maybe it was his given name, or perhaps it was one he always wanted… i bet it was something cool like rafe or preston or xander.
Chelan 