UGLINESS AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE
"Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him." Acts 3:1-10.
An oxymoron is a figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict each other. This contradiction is also known as a paradox. So to use the words ugly and beautiful in the same sentence is an oxymoron. Ugly is always attributed to something unattractive, unsightly, repulsive, hideous and unpleasant to look at. Ugly is to be distasteful, vile, disgusting, grotesque, dirty, unseemly, messy and offensive to the sense of beauty. Beautiful, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. Beautiful is to be amazing, appealing, good-looking, delightful, overwhelming, splendid, gorgeous, striking, attractive, picturesque, charming, wonderful, marvellous, cool, awe-inspiring and pleasing to the eyes.
It was here, at this magnificent gate of one of the most beautiful structures ever made by man, that we find this man with an ugly situation. The Bible does not give us his name. But the information written about him in the Scripture says that he was a lame man and a beggar. A beggar who had to be taken to the gate daily to beg. He had been carried from the time he was a baby, and even now in the middle ages of his life, he was still carried and laid at the gate in order to beg. He had no choice for he had been crippled from his mother’s womb. This man was by a Beautiful Gate yet experiencing ugly situation. Even though the Beautiful Gate was an extension of the Temple in Jerusalem his situation was ugly. Daily men and women go through the gate into the Temple to worship God and often comes out rejoicing, but this man situation remained hopeless and unsightly. The name Beautiful given to this gate was a daily reminder of what his life wasn’t. Looking at the splendour, wonderful and beauty of this gate he was daily reminded of the ugliness, suffering, dependence, pain and chaos that was associated with his life. The beggar couldn’t walk. Yet he saw people daily walking effortlessly through this beautiful gate into the Temple. The Temple was worth a fortune. It was beautiful to behold, but lying on its outside was a man marred, disfigured, distorted and an outcast. The lame man's condition limited his ability to function as a whole person. He was only at the Beautiful gate looking for a hand-out. At his age many already had family of theirs but for this man it was unlikely. He was dependent upon others to carry him and to take him wherever he had to go. The lame man was outside of the Temple, and he couldn’t even go in. He was in the surrounding of the Temple and heard all the prayers, reading of the Word and hymns yet he was all alone. But on a certain day, and at an appointed time, things changed. God changed his story for the better.
LIFE HAS ITS UGLINESS:
Life is full of contrasts. We all go through mountains, and we go through the valleys as well. Some will be filled with joy, and some with heartache. We go through successes, and we go through failures. There are many difficulties in life. Some of these challenges will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith in God. No one is exempted from trials. Everybody has challenges. Psalm 34:19. The fact that you're living a godly life does not mean there won’t be suffering. Men and women of faith have experienced troubles and trials throughout history! Problems are part and parcel of life, both for Christians and non Christians, churchgoers and non church goers. It doesn't mean you're a bad or an evil person. The difference is that when a child of God experiences trials, we're certain God's aware. We can be rest assured that we are safe in the hands of the Lord.
We'll experience all kinds of unpleasant situations in this world. Some of us have had situations where we ask the big question, why God, why is this thing happening to me? You may be going through a season right now that is not beautiful. Your finances look ugly. Your health looks ugly. Your marriage looks ugly. You business is not beautiful. Child abuse is not beautiful. Parental rejection and abandonment is not beautiful. Failure is ugly. The scars on your body, the reminders of yesterday's pain is not beautiful. Your ministry is not looking good. Shame and reproach is not beautiful. Poverty looks ugly. Betrayal is an ugly experience. Rape is not beautiful. Depression is ugly. Oppression is not beautiful. Endometriosis, fibroid and breast cancer is not beautiful. Rejection is ugly. Depending on others for survival is not good. Joblessness is ugly. Stagnancy is not beautiful. Your future looks ugly. But God can make something good out of it as we trust Him.
No matter the seeming hopeless situation you’re facing now, you’re not alone. God cares! I remember in High school more than two decades ago we were taught about commas and full-stops. Full-stops and commas serve two important jobs. Commas tell us to pause! That more is yet to come, and the thought or sentence is not finished. A full-stop serves to tell us to stop; that we have arrived at the end of a thought. Feed this into your spirit today! It's not over! God hasn’t finished with the story of your life. So we should not put full-stops where God still has a comma. Ezekiel 37:2-10. Through Jesus, what is ugly is made beautiful. Don’t give up! Only God has the final say over your life. He's the only One who can change your ugly situations. Only God can turn your mourning into dancing and ashes into beauty. The Most High God loves to intervene in seemingly impossible and hopeless situations. Your situation may be hopeless until the Hope of the hopeless intervened.
DIVINE INTERVENTION:
There are times in our lives when we find ourselves in situations which we cannot overcome by personal efforts. Divine intervention is when God steps in and changes the outcome of a hopeless situation.
You need a divine intervention when you're boxed into a corner and there is no way out. A divine intervention comes handy when there is no human solution to a hopeless situation. You need a divine intervention when you've laboured and toiled all through the years but no success. A divine intervention is needed when doctors have written you off. You need God to intervene in your situation when you've tried everything humanly possible and still no solution in sight. You need a divine intervention when you're at the zero hour. You need God to come in and intervene when family, friends and even unbelievers around you are asking where is your God. Divine intervention puts an end to prolonged problem. A divine intervention brings you out of the pit of reproach, confusion and sudden death. Divine intervention takes you out of darkness and plants your feet in Salvation. A divine intervention makes you to be celebrated where you have failed before.
The case of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate was hopeless but God had something far more for him. The ministration of the apostles caused a turnaround in his life. Does it look as if your case is hopeless? Get ready for a divine intervention. Your miracle is around the corner. You can't give up now! Only God has the final say over your life and situation. Only He can determine the outcome of your case! Meanwhile as you wait for Him, stand firm in salvation. Keep having unconditional faith in God like the faith of the three Hebrew men. Have a faith of 'even if God decide not to do it I will keep worshipping and following Him' Keep believing in God.
WHAT TO DO?
1. Put God first in your life.
Putting God first in your life is seeking Him first above all things.
Develop a daily relationship with God. Choose a time at which you're most alert and can block out distractions. Start out with a half-hour quiet time, and after you've developed greater intimacy with God, increase the time.
2. Give thanks always.
Make it a habit to praise or thank God in everything, no matter the situation. Lazarus was still in the grave when Jesus gave thanks. John 11:41. If you're faithful in thanksgiving there will be a total turnaround.
3. Pray and fast.
There are situations that demands fasting and praying according to the Bible in Matthew 17:21. In such situations, you need to intensify your prayers. Prayer doesn’t seem so pleasing when you don’t see immediate answers. Sometimes asking over and over for the same request seems pointless. It may be days, weeks, months, or years of asking for the same thing and no hope in sight. So we think that maybe we are doing something wrong or that God doesn’t hear. We may even question His goodness. But the truth is, God hears every prayer and He does answer us - in His way and in His timing. So persist in prayer. Isaiah 62:6-7; Luke 18:1-8; Daniel 10:1-4; Daniel 9:2-3. God never gives up on you, so don’t give up in prayer.
4. Trust Him completely.
We must unconditionally trust and love God by removing conditions from our faith walk. He knows the best way to handle every situation in outr life so we only need to trust Him fully. We need to follow God's path and trust that He knows the best for us. We must not doubt His plan, because He knows all and He has a perfect plan. Refuse to waste your time in worry and anxiety. Cast out the spirit of fear. Isaiah 55:8-9; Psalm 55:22.
5. Don't forsake the assembly of the children of God.
The church is the place where the righteous, new converts and sinners meet to worship and encounter God.
6. Read the Bible daily.
Don't only ready the Word but you need to meditate on it. To meditate is to reflect on the same thing over and over, again and again, visualizing it and let the meaning of it sink deep into your heart. Joshua 1:8. Meditation is speaking God’s Word and promises with your mouth. When you meditate on God’s Word it will give you insights and wisdom that will guide you at every situation in life. Dig deep into the Word and feed on it daily.
7. Praise and Worship.
When you praise God in spite of your situation, you will experience a divine intervention. Acts 16:25-26.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11.
You're not broken beyond healing, damaged beyond repairs and wounded beyond recovery! God can transform your ugly situation into something more beautiful than you can even imagine. He can take your mess and turns it into a message. You're beautiful. Your past do not defines you. God can bring beauty out of your ashes. He can turn your shameful situation into a thing of glory. You may be going through the toughest times of your life but know that all of God’s ways are just, He is faithful. Sometimes it gets dark before you see the light. No matter what you are going through today, keep praising God continually. Psalm 34:1. Don’t lose heart, don’t lose focus. 1 Samuel 1:6. Remember, all things work together for good to them that love God.
“…… Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5b.
If you are willing to start anew with Jesus Christ, then pray this prayer: Father, I believe You love me. The Bible says I can love You because You first loved me. I thank you for Your love. I come to You today, fill my heart in a greater way that You ever have before. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and love. Help me to grow in Your love and let me show Your love to people all around me. Thank You, Father, in Jesus name. Amen.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. O Lord, help me to see your purpose even in my ugly situations, in Jesus’ name.
2. I will walk and not be weary; I will run and not faint, in Jesus name.
3. Increase my strength, O Lord, in Jesus name.
4. Father, beautify every ugly situation in my, in Jesus name.
5. O Lord, I trust You with my life. Let Your Will prevail in my life, in Jesus name.
6. By Your intervention O Lord, let all my pending breakthroughs, manifest, in Jesus name.
7. Thank God for answering your prayer.
