That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2nd Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
It always amazes me how God orchestrates our lives and intertwines our lives together. He operates completely different from us - in action and in His way of thinking. Of course, He tells us exactly that in Isaiah 55 and yet, in hindsight, when I actually see all the connecting dots, it blows me away.
God not only sees the big picture; He IS the big picture. We tend to focus only on what's in front of us. How many times have you heard someone say I don't see God in this at all... And then, God is there.
Take Stephen, for example. When the apostles needed help with tending to widows and seeing to the practical needs of the church, Stephen was among the seven that were chosen. Actually, he was named first. Scripture tells us in the book of Acts that Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Of course, we would choose him.
Further on in the chapter, we learn Stephen was full of God's grace and power and that no one could stand against his wisdom and the Spirit he had. Wow...no one could stand against his wisdom. Now, that's saying something! He even preached the Good News, and when he prayed for people, they were healed. Life was good. And then...
One minute, Stephen was in leadership, preaching the Gospel message of Jesus and laying hands on the sick and they were healed, and then someone lied about him. The next minute, he was brought before the religious leaders of the Temple (not to be confused with Jesus' disciples and leadership). He was accused, but according to the law, he had the opportunity to defend himself. And then, God made Stephen's face become as bright as an angel's face. Surely, that must have given his accusers pause.
Stephen answered his accusers by giving the history of Abraham and the covenant given to the Jewish people. Pretty impressive. He continued through to Moses and then to King David. So far, so good. The lies would surely be exposed. Stephen gets to the part about the Messiah descended from the line of David - all the things the high council learned in the Temple from the time they first attended...and then, that's when it got ugly. You can read about it in Acts 6 - 8.
It became a publicly announced kick-off event for the persecution of the church and the Christians. And then, some fled for their lives. And then, others were run out of town, but in their running, they also took with them the Good News and they spread the gospel of Christ throughout the world.
Oh, and then right before they stoned Stephen, his accusers laid their coats at the feet of man named Saul who was there to be a witness to Stephen's murder, and Saul became zealous in his persecution of the church and its members. The same Saul - who on the road to Damascus had a divine encounter with Jesus and then became Paul - who later wrote almost two-thirds of the New Testament....and then...
Prayer:
Father,
We don't always understand the whys, the wherefores and the therefores, but we are so grateful for Your faithfulness to us. We want to be faithful to Your will for us. Help us to clearly see the way You would have us go and then strengthen and enable us to walk in it. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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