But what is meant to destroy, God uses to grow.
Recently, Jenny and I received a lovely card from a young girl who wrote that her entire faith had turned around for the good because of us. The way we continued to love and serve God, even after the terrible loss of our five-year-old son, Zac, was such a powerful testimony to her that it inspired her to pray and read her Bible more.
Though Zac’s death was tragic, this is just one of the many examples of how God used it for something beautiful.
After the death of Stephen, severe persecution breaks out. Believers are dragged from their homes. The congregation is scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. It seems as if the young movement is being suffocated.
But what is meant to destroy, God uses to grow.
“Those who were scattered everywhere went about and proclaimed the Word” (Acts 8:4). The promise from Acts 1:8 is beginning to visibly become a reality: the gospel is spread from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria.
Philip preaches in Samaria, a place where Jews normally did not want to go. But the gospel breaks through old enmities. There is joy in the city. Unclean spirits depart. People are set free.
Later, Philip is sent by the Spirit onto a lonely road. There, he meets an Ethiopian courtier who is reading Isaiah. One conversation, one explanation, one baptism: and the gospel simply travels on to Africa.
Acts 8 teaches us that God's mission does not stop in the face of opposition. Sometimes, He actually uses our distractions to carry out His plan. What feels like a loss to us can become multiplication in God's hand.
The question is: when our plans collapse, do we trust that God's plan will continue?
