Scripture: Acts 4:29-30 ESV – “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Yesterday we focused on the Sovereignty of God. Peter and John chose to lead themselves and their followers toward trusting in God’s perfect sovereignty in the face of threats. As you read today’s passage above, it’s very possible you will struggle to identify threats that you face in the same journey. It’s unlikely any ruling body has arrested and threatened you because of your faith in Jesus. So what exactly is threatening you?
It may not seem obvious on the surface, but the biggest threat to Peter and John was themselves. In other words, the only ones who could have derailed the ministry God was calling them to, was them. Thankfully they did not. When is the last time you looked at your struggles and suspected yourself as the primary obstacle between victory and defeat? Let’s be clear, not every struggle you face is your fault. Many of them are due to what we like to refer to as “life”. It’s true that circumstances are at the heart of many struggles. Sometimes it’s other people and their propensity for dysfunction that bleed over to you. And yes, there are some struggles you face that were born out of your own dysfunction.
Here’s why you are the biggest threat to your own spiritual progress: Regardless of whether it’s your fault or due to external factors, the only one who can decide what your response will be is you. As you read yesterday, God’s sovereignty is perfectly constant. He will forever be sovereign God. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for your obedience. Don’t let that offend you. The Bible has plenty of examples of those who followed after the heart of God and yet struggled to obey Him. Peter himself is a great example. The same Peter who told the crippled man to stand and walk in Acts 4, is the same Peter who denied Christ three times before He was crucified. He’s the same Peter who cut off the ear of the soldier who came to arrest Jesus, only to be rebuked by Jesus who would end up healing the soldier. Peter fell short in a moment of faith when he got out of the boat and walked on water in Matthew 14, only to take his eyes off of Jesus to put his attention on the threatening winds. Peter suddenly found himself sinking. It’s true that Peter was the only one of the disciples who was willing to even attempt to walk on water the way Jesus did. It’s also true that Jesus rebuked him for taking his eyes off of Him and focusing on what he feared would sink him. Ironically, it was Peter himself who would do that. Here’s what Jesus was telling Peter when He corrected him: the only thing that would ever get in between him and Jesus was his willingness to focus on the things he feared over the one who is bigger than all of those fears.
The key here is not to fixate on Peter’s mistakes. It’s to celebrate the fact that none of his missteps disqualified him from the ministry we see him doing in Acts. In fact, the reason Peter did what he did in Acts 4 is because he did what he did in those examples above? He learned that the primary threat to fulfilling God’s call on his life was himself. He saw firsthand the faithfulness of Jesus. Even the fact that Jesus knew Peter would deny Him three times when Peter adamantly said he would not, served to be a strong proof that the authority of Christ is second to nothing. In every instance, Jesus proved to be exactly who He came to earth to be; the Messiah. After going through all of that and witnessing the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, It’s easy to understand how Peter was so firm in his convictions while facing the threats you read about today.
So how are you the central threat to your own growth? What are your eyes focused on as you sometimes falter?
Instead of beating yourself up because of yesterday’s disobedience, understand that it’s today’s calling and the one who calls you to it that can cut through your own fears and lead you to trust. No matter who may speak doubt over your future, you can be sure that it’s because of the one who heals your past that you will be equipped to walk in faith and obedience in the face of any threat.
Look at the passage for today once more. When you face threats, are you calling on Jesus to overcome, or are you being overcome by letting your eyes drift toward your doubts and fears. Ask God to help you today. Ask Him to be Lord over all things and to impose His sovereignty over all threats.
Including you!
Reflection Questions:
- If you were to do a spiritual threat assessment on yourself, what would you say are the top three people or things that cause you to stray from a focused path of growth and obedience?
- Is there something you know God is asking you to do for Him that seems to take a back seat to things of lesser importance?
- Take some time to sit with God and ask Him to do a spiritual threat assessment on you. Ask him to search your heart and reveal the things you may not even know about yourself. As you seek Him, pay attention to the first thoughts you have. How do these things resonate with you? Do they seem to line up with what you’ve been noticing as problems or threats for you?
- How can you pray today to specifically target the spiritual threats in your life? Take a moment and set three reminders in your phone that will remind you to pray for God to help you overcome three different threats you face in your life. (I.e. media distractions, destructive relationships, people pleasing, addiction, etc…)
- This one is tough: How have you been an overall threat to God being able to involve Himself in the issues you just wrote down? What is one change you could enact today that would open the door for His intervention?