Sometimes We Need A Little Push

-June 28, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.”

(Acts 8:4).

The stoning of Stephen, the first martyr of the church marked the beginning of a tremendous persecution against the church. Saul of Tarsus became the chief protagonist of the church, going house to house, dragging off the Christians, men and women, committing them to prison.

Satan was behind the persecution, but God used it to spread the gospel outside of Jerusalem. Acts 8:1 says, “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.”

The Lord Jesus had instructed the apostles in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” They done a great job in Jerusalem but it went no farther. They needed a little push to get them going out.

The word scatter is defined as, “to separate and go in various directions; to sow by casting in various directions.” In Acts 8, there are two scatterings: the movement of the saints from one place to other places and the sowing of the seed of the gospel far and wide.

We don’t know exactly why all the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. Perhaps it was they felt more comfortable, or they may wanted to keep Jerusalem as their headquarters and home base. It was unlikely because they were afraid, because they had showed great boldness in proclaiming the gospel.

The lesson we can learn from this is that God moves in mysterious ways, using people and circumstances to accomplish His will. Sometimes we need a little push to get us going or to bring us back to Him, or to move us to where He wants us to be.

I know God has given me a little push at times. We can become too set in our ways, too comfortable, even being complacent in some ways. He speaks to us through His Word and through prayer, and godly counsel. The general rule is to stay where He places you until God moves you; and then go when and where He wants you to go.

Have a blessed day in God’s will, doing God’s work, in God’s way. Stay safe and healthy.

When God pushes, we shouldn’t pull.

Dean