Misinterpreted Sign

Pete Kersker - Jul 29, 2026

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk (Acts 14:8-10 NIV).

The Lord performed a miracle in Lystra. A person who cannot walk since birth does not just stand up and start walking. This man did. God told Paul that this was going to happen so people would trust and listen to Paul. The miracle was performed by God as a sign pointing to God. The people of Lystra, however, misinterpreted the sign.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker (Acts 14:11-12 NIV).

Sometimes God does something out of the ordinary, even miraculous, to get our attention. God gives us these "turning point" moments so we will stop what we are doing and pay attention to God. The miracle is a sign pointing to God. It's critically important, then, that we don't misinterpret the sign. We could end up going in the completely wrong direction.

The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them (Acts 14:13 NIV).

Has God ever done something out of the ordinary to get your attention?
Did you see it as a sign pointing you to God? How did you respond?