Boldly Shaken

“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

After being arrested for proclaiming salvation in the name of the risen Jesus Christ, Peter and Paul were threatened and warned to not speak again of Him in public. They responded that they could not abide by this directive, but that they were compelled to continue proclaiming Christ. Unable to take action against them, they were released and told their companions all that had happened. The group then went to God in prayer to worship Him as not only the creator of all things but the One who continues to keep them even in this resistance which they were told would come. As they prayed, they did not ask for the trials to stop, but rather that they would have boldness to continue despite them. It was at the conclusion of the prayer that this verse occurs as God demonstrated He had heard their prayer and was powerfully with them such that they then continued to do what they had been sent to do which was to speak boldly the good news of salvation in Jesus and Jesus Christ alone.

Their response in the face of a life-shaking event was to go to God who moved in them in such a way that they could then go forward with unshakable confidence. It is the certain confidence of God’s presence and His strong hand in our struggles that enables us to rest when everything else seems to be moving way to fast or in a direction that we would not have chosen. God’s goodness isn’t measured by Him keeping us from trials, but in His faithfulness to bring us through to the other side.

“I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8)

Sherman County eNews Spiritual Matters - 07/19/2019