Real Hope: Acts - a Study of Acts 1-5Sample

Cannot Be Stopped

Have you ever sat with a friend or family member, listened to them gush over a new ministry idea or a calling, and thought, ‘Did God really tell you to do that?’ And then, with good intentions for them, tried to talk them out of it?

I know I have done it plenty of times, pondering whether the person sitting across from me is making a wise decision or going in the right direction, trying to maybe talk them out of it because, in my opinion, it didn’t make sense to do it. And there have been plenty of times when I found myself eating my words because their stepping out in faith has shown they were, in fact, aligned with God.

As I’ve matured in my faith, I’ve come to see that Gamaliel, the Pharisee who spoke those words above, was right. God promises to direct our steps, and if He calls you into something that seems so out there that it just might work, then who am I to stop you? If it is of God, you will succeed, and if I fight you on it, I am, in fact fighting with God (not something I want to do!). If it is not of God, then I trust God is there to direct your steps back to His will.

Is there a situation in which you need to step back and let God take the lead? Are you holding yourself back from stepping out in faith because those around you are causing you to doubt? Take comfort in Gamaliel’s words – ‘But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men.’

Written by NERI MORRIS

Want more? Check out the Real Hope Conversations Podcast and delve deeper into our conversation about the first five chapters of Acts. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.