PODCAST
Taking Pause
October 29th, 2022
Acts 13:42-52
When I read Acts 13, I readily relate to Paul and Barnabas. I think of times when I’ve tried to speak truth and do right, and others come against me. Perhaps you relate that way, too. Maybe that’s happened, and we need a word from God to be encouraged, strengthened, and to stand firm. If that’s our need today, take heart! God will give us what we need.
But if we’re willing, let’s do something different. Look at verse 50a: “the Jewish leaders incited God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city.” Honestly, those God-fearing women and leading men sound like ordinary people who are strong in their faith—people like you and me. Perhaps this passage would invite us to take pause and ask ourselves if, in our journey of faith, might we have been somehow incited in the wrong direction? If we find ourselves taking sides or finding fault with others, let’s not presume we are in the right. Let us open our heart to Psalm 139:23-24 and sincerely ask the Lord: “Search me, God, and know my heart . . . see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Author: Deanna Hayden
