Be Encouraged That God’s Ways Are Higher
Share
In Acts 5, we yet again find the Pharisees and high priests trying their best to persecute believers in Jesus. Even after Jesus has already died, risen, and ascended, they are out to make Jesus, and anyone who points to him, look bad. In the midst of wanting to be violent and humiliate the apostles, they refrain in pride and desire to look good in front of the people.
Never could we in our finite minds have imagined and come up with such a perfect and beautiful plan of salvation that God Himself would come down to us in the form of man and die on our behalf, then leave the best gift of His presence through the Holy Spirit, who is with us always for those who believe in Christ. When Adam and Eve thought that their story was over and hopeless and there would never be reconciliation with their Creator, He already had His master plan.
In the same way, we might start to think, “How can God work this out?” Or “How am I going to get through this oppression or persecution from the enemy and the world?” We too can be reminded of Isaiah 55:8-9, that even though we do not understand why, the Lord is in control and we can find great rest in His sovereignty.
It is as if we clench our fists trying to hold onto something so tightly that we tense up, but the Lord wants us to loosen our grip into open hands of surrender, because we will be in a place of rest and reliance. This is not easy to do in life. We have to daily let go of our agendas and our ways in exchange for what the Lord wants to do.
What these Scriptures remind us is that in the midst of opposition from the enemy, through other people, society, politics, culture, etc., we are called to stand firm in our faith, knowing that the gospel message is being carried on through every generation. We are invited to share the good news of the gospel with everyone who we are able. We are invited to pick up our crosses daily, knowing that we are not alone in our suffering or in the attacks, but Jesus is with us. We are reminded to lean on the Lord and hope in Him, even when do not understand what He is doing behind the scenes.
Whoever you are today, wherever you live, and however you are serving Christ, press on. Remember that His message of hope stands forever, rest in His sovereignty, and move forward with the gospel where you are. Just like the Holy Spirit empowered the first apostles, He is still empowering us today to be the voices in this dark world to point to the kingdom of light and the Savior of life. We can share this hope in the most challenging places or to the hardest of hearts, knowing that the Spirit of Christ lives in all who believe. He is still doing great things.
More from this author
How Does Jesus’ Compassion for Lepers Encourage Us to Care for the Lost?
7 Facts You May Not Know about the Christmas Story
Why Are We Called to Stewardship?
Photo credit: Unsplash/Prottoy Hassan
