What I find interesting about people is how they deal with things that don’t fit into their thinking. They will approach it in one of two ways. They know what has occurred and don’t want to embrace it, so every effort is made to down play it. Or, it could peak their
interest and move them to want to know more. This is what happens when the Lord turns a situation around. Some will make an attempt to down play the impact the Lord made. While others are drawn closer to the Lord, and begin to engage in learning more about Him. Whenever the Lord does the unthinkable, He will always have people in place to encourage all who want to know more. In essence the Lord will always have saints in place as witnesses to the power of God. In many cases these are the saints the Lord was working through, and they will continue to remind all in attendance who made it happen. In Acts 4:15-22, the leaders were frustrated by the miracle the Lord did through Peter and John. Denying what happened was not an option, and the leaders felt the situation was beyond their control. They were concerned, because it was drawing people to want to know more about Jesus Christ. They understood if they gave it too much attention it would cause others to come and see what took place. There was too much evidence, and they needed to find a way to down play the miracle.
The leaders said to Peter and John, “so they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” They attempted to use their authority as leaders to block them from speaking and teaching about Jesus. This is letting us know they had no control over what happened, but they were trying to strike fear into Peter and John to minimize the impact. However, it didn’t work, and Peter and John stated, “whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” They wanted the leaders to know the Lord is the head of their lives, and they could not be silent. They had seen and heard so much from the Lord, and have been commissioned to take the Gospel to the world.
The leaders wanted to kill them, but they knew the people would not agree with them. So, they let them go. When you are doing the will of the Lord, He will always take care of you. The situation appears as if the odds were against Peter and John. I want you to understand, when you are doing the Lord’s work the odds are against you. But, the Lord is working it all for His good, to let you know His favor is with you every step of the way. You don’t have to do anything, but speak the truth, and the Lord will do the rest. Continue to walk in your blessings!
