The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Early in the book of Acts, Peter and John are arrested and put on trial for preaching. The pair refused to back down under pressure from the religious authorities of the time, at least partially because they hadn’t broken any laws. The court ultimately released them but warned them not to preach any more. When they got out, the first thing the two disciples did was go to the rest of the church, relay the message, and then spend time praying. This isn’t all that surprising, because it’s the sort of thing we expect people to do when we read the Bible. The surprising part is that the prayer, which is the longest prayer recorded in the book of Acts, almost entirely consists of them talking about how God is in control and all powerful and things that happen only happens because He allows them to. They then ask for God to help them be bold and keep preaching. They didn’t complain about the injustice or beg God to stop the danger. They didn’t publicly attack their persecutors. Instead, they acknowledged that God is all powerful and in control. Then they asked for help doing what they were going to do anyway. I think this is a big deal in our day because we are living in a time when life is presenting us with some unusual challenges, and there is a lot of division in culture. The apostles of Jesus show us a pretty good way to respond and that works in the time we are living through. We can trust that God is in control and that He is good. This is no small thing, considering how out of control much of the world appears to be right now. Between Covid, election chaos, and anything else we can pick out, it might seem that these are scary times. However, God is in control. That might mean that we go through hardship for a while or we deal with injustice or that bad things happen. Still, if God is in control and is allowing things to go the way they are going, then we must trust Him, grow in faith, and be grateful for the challenges that make us stronger in our faith or glorify God with our faithfulness. Now, to clarify, I am not saying that God is sending a pandemic to punish us or that we should be happy that people are sick or that there is strife in our culture. Rather, I am saying that it is especially valuable to remember at times like this that God is in control and that He has a plan. This is especially worthwhile to remember as we prepare to spend a day giving thanks to God for the blessings He has given us. After a stressful and crazy year, it makes sense to thank God that we can trust He is in control. It is especially true that hard times provide opportunities to reflect on what He has given us.