🕊️ PRAY HERE Devotion 🕊️ The Gospel Goes Global

Scripture: Acts 8:2-4 (ESV)

“Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

Devotion: Sometimes God does a great thing in the midst of a tragedy, what seems like a loss, disappointment, pain, trials, or rejection.

As it is written:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)

With that said, God often moves in ways that we do not understand.

Here we are in Acts chapter 8.

The High Priest and the Jewish council have killed Stephen.

They were wrong, and the blood of an innocent man was on their hands.

Why would they kill him?

Because they were in such disagreement with the Word of God that every truth Stephen spoke they declared to be blasphemy.

Now one of the church’s beloved deacons and messengers for Christ is dead.

To make matters worse, he was killed because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Whew!

Let’s make this current.

Imagine God tells a person to stand for biblical truth at work. They obey Him and refuse to compromise. As a result, they lose their position.

Or imagine a ministry refuses to water down the Gospel to fit culture, and people stop attending because the truth makes them uncomfortable.

Some people would immediately say:

“See, that’s why I wouldn’t do that.”

Fear would cause them to stop obeying God because they do not want the same thing to happen to them.

The same thing happens today.

Some churches and believers are compromising because they do not want to be socially crucified.

They want to appeal to the world.

They want to be liked.

They want to stay popular.

They are afraid of becoming a canceled ministry or losing people.

But Stephen was not concerned about popularity.

He was concerned about truth.

His faith was so strong that while they were killing him, his focus was still on Heaven.

Stephen’s last words included:

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

And he testified:

“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Glory to God!

Now let’s be honest.

Stephen’s death caused fear to spread.

The Christians feared for their lives.

It became too dangerous for many of them to stay in Jerusalem.

But look at what happened next.

The enemy thought he was stopping the Gospel.

Instead, he spread it.

The believers were scattered.

And wherever they went, they preached.

They preached in new cities.

They preached in new regions.

They preached to new people.

Before this, most of the ministry activity was centered around Jerusalem.

But Stephen’s death removed the limits.

Whew!

The Gospel went global.

What looked like a setback became a setup.

What looked like a defeat became expansion.

What looked like the enemy winning became one of God’s greatest opportunities for growth.

Stephen’s death was tragic.

But it was not in vain.

His faithfulness became a seed that helped spread the Gospel far beyond Jerusalem.

There is a lesson in that for all of us.

Do not judge God’s plan by what you see in the moment.

Sometimes God is growing you through the very thing you are trying to escape.

Sometimes the trial is pushing you into your purpose.

Sometimes the rejection is opening a new door.

Sometimes what feels like a loss is actually multiplication.

So do not fear the attacks.

Do not fear the criticism.

Do not fear the challenges that come with obedience.

Remain faithful to God.

Because when you obey Him, He causes you to triumph in every season.

And just like the early church, you will experience growth on the other side of the trial.

God bless you!

Prayer: Father God, thank You for reminding me that You are able to bring good out of difficult situations. Help me trust You when I cannot understand what You are doing. Give me the courage to remain faithful even when obedience is costly. Remove fear from my heart and strengthen my faith to stand for Your truth. Lord, help me not to compromise Your Word for acceptance, popularity, or comfort. Use every trial, disappointment, rejection, and hardship to grow me and advance Your purpose in my life. Let me remain steadfast and focused on You, knowing that You are working all things together for good. Help me spread the Gospel wherever You send me and trust that no sacrifice made for You is ever in vain.

In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏 🕊️