Sitting at the Gate

I started writing about waiting about a year ago. It had been bubbling inside me for some time. Charlie, my son, was really the beginning of my processing of waiting in life. Waiting to be pregnant. Then waiting for his birth. I have to admit that I didn’t think much of it before then. But now it fills my mind on a daily basis.

The funny thing is that it’s not just me. The more people I talk to the more I realize that it’s a universal human condition. We are all waiting for something. Sometimes it’s simple—waiting for the bus. Other times it’s heavier: healing, provision, direction, the next step. So really this conversation is for every single person because at the end of the day we are all waiting.

Out of all the different types of waiting I could discuss, I want to talk about miracles. I’m currently waiting for one myself.

Acts 3: 1-10 sticks out in my mind.

“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple for the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. A man who was lame from birth was being carried there. He was placed each day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so that he could beg from those entering the temple.” (1-2)

This man was waiting for his miracle from birth. He probably didn’t even know he was waiting for a miracle. He probably thought this would be the rest of his life. His entire life was out of his hands. He was brought from place to place—from home to beg—to beg and then home. That was his existence. But God had different plans for him.

“When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for money. Peter, along with John, looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” (3-6)

Today was like any other day. He was brought to the temple gate like any other day. Begging from those entering the temple—as he did any other day. Hope in this man had quieted to nothingness. Apathy. A repetition of the same. He certainly did not expect for a miracle that day. He was expecting money, maybe a small amount of coin. But that isn’t what Peter had; he had something much greater. Maybe this is you—waiting for the miracle in your life. You have let your hope fade; no longer willing to ask because you don’t hear the answer or it hurts too much to go another day of asking without a response. It is the prayer you stopped praying. The job you stopped applying for. The healing you no longer expect. The dream you stopped seeking. The silence that feels louder than the noise around you.

This man had to show up to the gate thousands of times before his miracle took place. Day after day again and again. No, it may not take thousands of days for you but sometimes it will feel like thousands. You just need to keep showing up.

“Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. So he jumped up and started to walk, and he entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.” (7-8)

With the healing of his body, this man also received something that was much more important. This man who was on the outskirts of society—an outcast—was returned to community. This was something he had never experienced. Now he was restored to where he belonged. In addition and more importantly this man was given a glimpse at who God is. God was worthy of his praise in a way he had never witnessed before. The man didn’t deserve the healing. He didn’t work for it. He didn’t ask for it. But out of God’s great mercy and love, He sent two of His disciples into a place where they would come into contact with this man. It’s not a coincidence. It’s God.

“All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.” (9-10)

Not only was this man changed by the miracle but so was everyone who saw him—everyone who knew him as the lame beggar outside the temple gate.

My miracle isn’t anything like this man’s. I’m believing for something much different but I’m encouraged by his story. If he received mercy he never even asked for, how much more can I trust that the Father sees my asking, my seeking, my waiting? No, I’m not implying that asking guarantees that I will receive what I ask. I’m drawn closer in connection with God and He helps me to see what I really need and what He will be providing for me today. So I speak my hopes out loud. Not because I believe I can force His hand but because I trust that He hears me and has the best for me. I believe God. And when He moves, I know it will be better than I imagined. And when that day comes I will be walking and praising Him so everyone knows what He has done. So I’m going to go sit at the gate and wait.