S: Acts 8:1b, 4 A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. ... But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.
O: Jesus had told the believers in Acts 1:8 that “you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” But at the beginning of Acts 8, they were still all living in a commune in Jerusalem.
God doesn’t condone the persecution that Saul & the Jewish leaders perpetrated on the believers, but God nonetheless used it to spread the Gospel – in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
A: I am faced with an adverse circumstance right now. It is very easy to just mope and despair, but I trust that God can use it for good.
This is the principle set forth explicitly in Romans 8:28-30: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
P: Father, help me to stay faithful to you and please give me your wisdom regarding the current situation. I trust you to lead me and use this adverse events for good.
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