“So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.”
Acts 14:10 (NLT)
This holy interruption occurs as Paul and Barnabas preach the good news. God is not only speaking through the message, but he is giving evidence the message is true. In Lystra there is a man crippled from birth who has never walked before. The crippled man sits there listening and receives in his heart who he’s hearing about with his ears, Jesus Christ.
At some point Paul discerns by the Holy Spirit that this man has faith to be healed. That detail moves me, because Paul does not treat the man like a to-do item for later. He stops the sermon immediately, because the people are more important than the message itself. If faith has risen in somebody’s heart, God is already at work, and the moment matters.
So Paul calls out in a loud voice and tells him to stand up. The man responds, and he does not slowly learn to walk like all other humans. The man jumps up and starts walking by faith in one moment. That is a picture of overflow. God does not just restore what is missing, he gives an ability that didn’t exist in the first place. The leg muscles aren’t built up over months, like a child. There is no learning the rhythms of how to walk. God does more than enough for this man, in an instant.
Peter explains the same kind of miracle in Acts 3:16, clarifying that complete healing is possible through faith in the name of Jesus. I believe and have seen evidence that is still true today. Faith in Jesus’ name can and will heal bodies. But this story is also a picture of what happens when we are saved. In an instant the Holy Spirit can cleanse and purify us for eternal life, when we believe in Jesus. But Holy Spirit also enters our hearts to enable us to walk with God. And Holy Spirit imparts gifts that allow us to do things we never could do on our own, in just a moment. God can do what we cannot do in an instant, and he does it with overflow. Not just enough, but with more than enough.