Wednesday, October 3, 2023

It’s good for the kingdom

Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Acts 8:4

Have you ever done something that you thought God was leading you to, but after you were done, you just didn’t know if it made a difference or made an impact at all?  Maybe it was taking a minute to pray with someone or maybe you sent a message to encourage someone?  It seemed like a small thing to do and certainly, since you felt impressed to do it, it must have accomplished something.  Yet in the natural realm nothing seemed to change at all or even the way your act of kindness was received was disappointing.

In today’s reading, there was a great persecution of God’s people was going on.  Saul (who later became Paul) was actually going right into people’s homes and dragging them off to prison if they were a Christian.  You would have thought that because these people were following the Lord and doing good that God would have protected and even made them the heroes of the day.  Instead, the Christ followers were forced to scatter and seek out refuge from the oppression that was coming against them.

While all this was going on, something supernatural was happening that probably no one realized at the time.  As God’s people began to spread out, more people were being saved and reached.  If they had continued to stay where they were, the message of God’s salvation in Jesus would not have reached the entire world at that time.  God was supernaturally using this great persecution to His advantage by raising up future leaders and teacher so that His message of the good news would last for generations to come.

Just because something bad was happening, that didn’t mean that God wasn’t working.  His Spirit is always at work, and it doesn’t matter what is going on, His plans will always be fulfilled and reach those far from Him.

So, the next time you take a step of faith to minister or encourage someone, don’t wonder if it did any good.  Believe that God is working on that individual and those around you in the unseen realm.  The Holy Spirit’s work is like a seed that is planted in the ground and once it is buried, you cannot see it anymore.  However, things are still happening, and growth is occurring even in the places where you cannot see what good is going on.

Today I want to encourage you to keep walking out God’s plan for your life. Don’t be concerned with seeing immediate result.  If you do, then great but ideally you want to see the long-term results so that your obedience to His prompts live on long after you are gone from that day.  Believe that God is doing a good work through your acts of kindness and love for others and even when you just wanted to be a nice person, He will make those seeds grow up to a full harvest.

Today’s scripture reading: Acts 8:1-9

1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 

2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 

5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 

6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 

7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8And there was great joy in that city.