Day 294: Acts 28:7–10

The rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. So they heaped many honors on us (vv. 9–10).

When God performed His awesome, miraculous work on the island of Malta, healing all the sick, I believe His main purpose was to meet their spiritual needs. Three details suggest God worked in the physical realm for spiritual reasons.

First, Paul prayed before he healed the chief official’s father, not wanting the people of Malta to think he was a god. Prayer helped redirect their attention to the source of all healing—Jesus Christ, the Great Physician.

The second detail that suggests God used physical needs to shed light on spiritual realities was His means of healing. He used Paul to heal, yet Luke was a physician. Why? I believe God wanted the people of Malta to recognize God (instead of some well-educated professional) as the source of their healing. No doubt God used Luke many times to tend the sick, but when He wanted to leave no room for doubt, He used someone with no knowledge of medicine.

The last detail that suggests God was up to something spiritual was wholesale healing. Sadly, an evangelist may not pack the house with good preaching and Spirit-filled worship, but he can draw large crowds with rumors of healing. Yes, God cares about the sick. He cares deeply. And He often heals physical illnesses, but seldom in Scripture did He use a servant to bring physical healing to an entire land. God used the physical needs of those in Malta to draw attention to the only One who could meet their spiritual needs. He trusted Paul not to take credit for a work only God can do.

We, too, must be careful to give God the glory when He uses us to accomplish things only He can do. Every time you exercise a spiritual gift, God is accomplishing His work through you. If you are a servant of God and you have known Him long, He has used you to do something only He can do.

Think of a work He has accomplished through you. If you’re uncomfortable with this request, you may still be taking too much credit. I’m asking you to boast in God, not in yourself. Pray about your availability for any work He might use you to accomplish. Then commit to give Him the glory.