Take Care of Your Mat

Take Care of Your Mat

“… Get up and take care of your mat.” - Acts 9:34 (NIV)

By Kurai Chitima 

When you have an encounter with God not all stuff goes. Even our Lord Jesus, in his resurrection, still had the scars turned stars (John 20:27. Often you still have to deal with the same family situation, work situation or school situation. Further, there are consequences of your past life you have to live with. Good news is you are no longer under but above the circumstances. We talk a lot about stuff that we threw away or let go and very little about what remained. To Aeneas, the mat became proof/fruit of what God had done. It was also proof that he was the same person who had been bedridden for eight years. It became a tool for sharing what God had done. Memory of grace can overwrite abuse and bad things that happened in your past. The mat became a constant reminder to Aeneas of what God had done. It inspired him to set his expectations in walking with God by that basis. Expectations matter. Expect better things (Hebrew 6:9). What did the mat remind Aeneas?  We all can identify with Aeneas because God has done something in our lives. The mat became a symbol of:

> The transforming power of Christ - When you receive God’s grace expect change and transformation. An encounter with Jesus disturbs the status quo. He brings a new order.  He brings a new birth – a new mind, focus, possibilities, perspective, wisdom, knowledge, word or reason for living. He may not change your situation but will give a new way of seeing so that all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Some things you resent become material to build on/redefine. Some places you would avoid become places you shake.  Some people who stay and you have to love and influence.  Light in you shines in the darkness of your situation. A new way of seeing demands a new way of living/doing. Aeneas had been cared for by the mat but from now,  he is taking care of it. Taking care of the mat required a new way of seeing/thinking. What was bed, chair, shoe, etc was now just for sleeping. Christ transformed its use. Instrument for limiting freedom now was an instrument for illustrating freedom. Just as the cross a symbol of brutality is now of love. The mat, a symbol of torment, was now a symbol of rest. To move with Christ give up how you used to make decisions and do things.

> The miracle working nature of God. With God all things are possible (Luke 1:37). Aeneas had been unable to walk for eight years. God did what was impossible with human ability (Matthew 19:26). God intervenes in the natural course of things to show his love. You may have convinced yourself about your condition of need but God wants you to know that there is a way. What you need is new information. What you need is a fresh revelation.

> The supernatural potential in a faith choice. When Christ addresses your situation expect to make a choice. The decision to do something in obedience is yours the ability is God’s. God cannot make the decision for you. Your greatest decision is to trust and surrender to God and let him enable you. You have to choose to receive. God shows an open door where it seemed there was none (Revelation 3:8). He brings an opportunity to cross over to a new day. You can rise up or stay confined to a mat. Opportunities are obvious or disguised (Matthew 14:26). When an opportunity comes you can - miss it, watch it pass, talk about it, waste it OR GRAB IT.   Take your opportunity today. Each moment choosing Gods’ way (Matthew 16:24).  The mat reminded Aeneas of how he stirred his faith to do what he could not do. He had fears about how he would provide his needs, whether he would find a job. Remembering how he received his miracle of healing helped him to experience more miracles in his new life (Colossian 2:6).