Scripture Reading: Acts 6:1-15, Exodus 34:29-30, 1 Timothy 3:8-13
In my life I’ve made hard decisions out of obedience only to find more hardship as a result. Maybe you have too. We’re often left to wonder why we would end up in a hard situation after doing what is right.
I faced one of these difficult choices in my late 20s: to continue enjoying a comfortable life and ignore my soon-to-expire visa or to return to a distressing reality. After a lifetime of living abroad, I chose the latter because I knew it honored God. What followed was even harder than I dreaded. I felt abandoned, disappointed, and hurt while I tried to navigate the outcome of my obedience.
Looking back, the experience matured my faith deeply. But I only saw the fruit decades later. At the time, I could not understand why my act of obedience seemed to earn me God’s scorn. I spent many tears and months asking God why He allowed my circumstances to be so harsh. Even in my every day, outcomes are always lurking in the back of my mind. There have also been times when I’ve gone to great lengths to avoid engaging in certain conversations for fear of being misrepresented or rejected because of my faith.
This is how today’s text confronts me: What if there’s a better question to ask than “why?” What if the real question is not about outcomes at all (at least none we can understand in the moment), but about the position of our heart and what God is accomplishing in and through us?
It was Stephen’s wisdom that prompted others to oppose and malign him. Yet the position of Stephen’s heart was aligned with God’s plan. He was part of God’s provision for that community, chosen for this task because of his good standing (1Timothy 3:13). A gift meant to meet a need in the Church became the reason for Stephen’s hardship.
God’s favor didn’t spare Stephen the sufferings of a fallen world. But God’s favor didn’t leave him either, evidenced by the fact “they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking” (Acts 6:10).
The purpose was never Stephen’s safety or comfort. He was an integral part of a bigger situation unfolding—the building of God’s Church. The result was right on schedule: the work of the Holy Spirit on display. Stephen’s undeniable wisdom and his otherworldly physical countenance in front of his opponents revealed God’s power for all to hear and see.
Oh, that we might have eyes to see the deep work of your Spirit, Lord! Holy Spirit, align our hearts to your purposes, that we, too, may boldly display your wisdom, even and especially in the face of opposition. Help us face opposition knowing that we are your Church, and we are held and sustained by the very power that resurrected Christ.
Written by Paola Barrera
