Good morning,
Since
God tells us that every day of our lives is planned,(Psalm 119:16) is
it possible that something important is also planned for each of those
days? One of the challenges that all of us face is that our lives seem
so daily. The big events for us may come years apart, so what are the
days in between there for? Could it be that most of our lives are just
filler to get us to the big events? It seems to me that if God has
planned each day, there must be a good reason for each of the events
that come along during that day that will have some importance in both
time and eternity. I can’t imagine that the God of eternity would just
give us time to use up until we finally get home.
In Acts 4 the
Bible tells us the story of what happened to Peter and John one day on
the way to a prayer meeting at the temple. As they were going in they
saw the beggar that was usually there in a different way. They saw his
need in a new way. He didn’t just need money. What he really needed
was a body that could walk and run like everyone else. He also needed
to know God as a living part of his life. So what did God do. Peter
got his attention and then told him that he didn’t have money for him
but he did have something else. Peter told him that in Jesus name he
should get up and walk. The beggar did! He also started to run and
jump and make a lot of happy noises that got the peoples attention.
People came running, Peter started preaching and by the time the day was
over Peter and John were in prison for causing trouble.
The next
day Peter and John found themselves facing all the important religious
leaders who were demanding to know why they were causing so much
trouble. Peter gave a clear and powerful witness for Jesus, only to
find themselves ordered to stop their teaching about this man Jesus.
The men were very clear in refusing their command to shut up and go
away. What they said next is what all of us need to remember as we face
the challenges of life on a daily basis. They said, “We cannot stop
telling about everything we have seen and heard.” You see, God had been
at work in their lives for years. Now they could speak to these people
with the conviction that comes from living with and for their Savior
day after day. They were not just talking theology, they were talking
about a living faith in a living God that had given them the strength of
conviction to confront even the most powerful of their enemies. Dear
Lord, will you please do the same for us as you did for these two men?
Acts 4:19
But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you
rather than him?
20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have
seen and heard.”
Roy Wisner
