Acts 3:2

New International Version (NIV)

Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

For meditation

Our house help in Dakar had a daily cleaning routine, and nothing could change it. Ernestine could not wait a minute for me to finish typing one sentence when she got to my office. She had to clean it, so I had to get out of her way, or she would clean around me. She was in her routine, and though she could do something else and give me time to finish what I was doing, she would not.

That is how we act sometimes. We get caught up in a particular routine and settle comfortably in it. It gets to a point where we become unbending and unexpecting. Nothing should disrupt us once we set our minds on doing something in a certain way and time. We expect no change and scream when it comes. Even when God shows up with something new for us, we could miss it. How many times has that happened?

The man crippled in both feet whom Jesus healed through Peter at the Beautiful Gate, like most beggars, had his routine too (Acts 3:1-8). Every day, his people carried him from his house to the temple gate to beg for money (2). He certainly had his favorite spot nobody could occupy. That was his routine, and the day Peter came by was no different. But God had something different for him that day. He asked Peter for money, but God gave him the ability to walk and make a living.

Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk (6).

With that gracious command, God broke the cripple man’s routine and opened a new life to him, a life that gave him cause to praise God in the temple (8).

Has life trapped you in a specific routine you cannot free yourself from? What will it take to get you to break out of it? Some routines are good, but they lose their essence when they become rigid and legalistic. We have cause to praise God for His mercy and grace to break into our daily routines and bring us into a novel experience with Him. Glory to God! We can tune our eyes and ears to see and hear Jesus in our daily routines. Are you ready for the change He brings into your life when He breaks your routine?

As you go about your daily routine, remember that God can interrupt, refresh, and reset your ways in life at any moment. Get ready for a pleasant surprise from Jesus as He comes into your crippling routine. May the change He brings put a new song in your mouth to sing, a hymn of praise to celebrate God’s goodness (Ps. 40:3).

Pray with Me

I rejoice for your interruptions in our cherished routines to establish your purpose for our lives. Surprise us one more time and let our joy overflow into jubilant singing and praising you in Jesus’s name. Amen.