"To this he replied, "Brothers and sisters, listen to me!"" (Acts 7:2 NIV)
I’m in Acts again this morning, let me catch you up. Jesus had ascended. The disciples had waited obediently on the Holy Spirit. When they received Him in fullness, they set out to turn the world upside down, starting in Jerusalem. Their preaching was powerful and the authenticity of their message was confirmed by many miracles. Commentators suggest 25,000 people had come to faith in Christ between Pentecost and Acts 7. The Sanhedrin was fuming. The new believers were learning a lifestyle of discipleship, communion and unbroken fellowship.
When this new community of believers hit their first internal dispute over food distribution, the apostles recognized that preaching needed to be the priority. So they prayerfully selected seven Spirit-filled men to tend to the feeding program. There are no menial jobs in the Kingdom and the Spirit-filled version of us is the best version.
Stephen was not insulted by his new station. Food service gave him ample opportunity to respond to the Spirit’s leading. Miracles and wonders accompanied his meals. And of course, these moves of God brought opposition. Ignorance and jealousy incited enemies for the early church. The Sanhedrin invented charges and produced false witnesses. “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
When the High Priest asked Stephen to defend himself, he spoke, full of the Spirit. He gave a brilliant defense: a brief but accurate history of the Jewish faith, starting with childless Abraham in Mesopotamia, including the centuries of slavery in Egypt, careful to share all of Moses’ ministry in detail, and ending with the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus. Stephen obviously adhered to the faith of their ancestors, but the Sanhedrin wouldn’t hear of it and set out to make the first martyr of the Christian faith.
It was while reading this amazing history of Jewish faith that I realized again how God plays a long game. Take a moment to read Acts 7:2-50. Notice how God weaves the salvation story over generations. Consider all the folks who died in the ‘not yet’ season of God’s good will: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, all the Jews in Egypt, Moses and every person who lived before Jesus walked the earth. All these folks died with faith in their hearts but dreams unfulfilled. Their story is still unfolding and one day soon, their belief will be rewarded.
God isn’t in a hurry because He has all the time in the world.
We are the hurried ones, the amateurs who make a mess in our haste. We wonder where God is or why He hasn’t addressed our issue because we forget that He moves on His timetable alone. His timetable is far wider and more intricate than we can imagine. If we are frustrated today, we do well to recall that our God is good and He can be trusted. He is faithful to work all things out for His glory and the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
I wonder if Stephen, eyes wide open in the Spirit, got a glimpse of this. He recited history so proficiently, he highlighted the hand of God across generations. Could he also trust that his life and death would fit right into God’s perfect plan? Did he step off into heaven with absolute trust in the resolution of all things?
I don’t know about you, but I want to learn to live at that level of confidence. I may not be able to see God’s sovereignty in my situation just yet, but I can look over the scope of human history and see that He is faithful. I can trust that my little piece in the puzzle of humanity will fit perfectly into place and the end result will accomplish His intentions. Perhaps we can live full of the Spirit like Stephen, selflessly serving wherever we’re needed, ready to suffer for the cause of Christ.
"Trust in Him at all times, you people, pour out your hearts to Him, for He is our refuge. " (Psalm 62:8 NIV)
Lord, we need Your Spirit because we leak. Help us to serve whenever and wherever You set us, with willing hearts and happy attitudes. Give us a glimpse of Your long game. Teach us to trust in Your slow-moving salvation plan. May we be willing to suffer for Kingdom come. Amen.