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Acts 4
What was the believers’ response when facing opposition? What is yours? Some things never change. From Old Testament times, to New Testament times, right on up to today the nations have plotted against God. They get angry at the truth and seek to destroy anyone who stands for it. They will not win. It is truly sad to see so many lost in their own pride on a path toward total self-destruction.
What are we to do in the face of such hostility? We can take a lesson from the early believers in this chapter. They prayed. But notice what they did and did not pray. They did not pray that God would take vengeance on their enemies. Nor did they pray for their own safety or for circumstances to change. What they did do was acknowledge God’s sovereignty, recalling scripture to recognize that those who stood against them were doing what God had determined beforehand should happen. With that understanding, they asked to speak God’s word with boldness and for God’s power to work through them in Jesus’ name.
I’m not suggesting that praying for any of those mentioned things is wrong. David’s many prayers in the Psalms would strongly suggest otherwise. But I think it’s important to note that the early believers were focused on their mission. They were tasked to be living witnesses to the good news of Jesus Christ; to share God’s life-giving, healing, redemptive word to all who would hear. And so they prayed to be able to do their mission well. Perhaps this is something that more of us, including myself, need to focus on today.
Ex. 5-6
Have you ever obeyed God and it seemed to backfire? What did you do? What did Moses do? How did God answer Moses and what was the Israelites’ response? What do you do when discouraged? I always disliked it at work when management would put down the workers’ suggestions and requests because they “didn’t see the big picture.” While I see the point in the statement, coming from humans it always came across as pretty arrogant and controlling. But I think it’s important to remember when dealing with God that we truly do NOT see the big picture. More importantly, God always does. God never acts simply for the moment. There is always a bigger plan and a greater purpose.
As humans, we operate in the here and now and we expect God to do the same. But He doesn’t. So we shouldn’t be taken aback when we ask for something, as Moses and Aaron did of Pharaoh, and we get quite the opposite of what we were looking for. We need to remember that things typically get worse before they get better. That’s where keeping your eyes on the prize, so to speak, becomes important. God had bigger plans for His people – and the rest of the world – than their immediate freedom. Besides making Himself known to nations, like Egypt, that did not know Him, He showed us His plan for the redemption of the world. And instead of sending His people out empty handed, He sent them out with great wealth.
Furthermore, God separates the faithful wheat from the faithless chaff among His people when He requires us to wait and to endure suffering. Both require patience and trust. We see over and over again that God is faithful to provide that rich reward at the end of it all. Which brings me back to Jesus’ words, “but the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:13).