God and you

Day 106

'Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means "queen of the Ethiopians"). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.

"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth."

The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.'

Acts 8:26-40

This is a long passage, I know, but it tells such an amazing story. It tells us how someone can be converted just through one person. Except that it's not just one person, because God is with them too. And this passage encourages me because it reminds me that nothing is impossible for God. I have very close friends who don't believe in God, but this reminds me that it is possible to change that. It is possible to draw others to our King. He loves everyone. He loves absolutely everyone! I have already mentioned, like twenty times, how to introduce your friends to God. Just give it a try! God is right behind you. He will help you. Phillip managed to convert the Ethiopian he had never met before. How hard must it be, then, for one of us to bring God to someone we have known for a very long time?

Let me also say something else about this passage. You see how the Spirit guided Phillip so that he could meet the Ethiopian? The Spirit is also guiding you. Trust your Father. He will put you on the path to the right person. He will not forget about you. It's not a game of chance, because God knows everything. Trust what God is saying. That is hard, I know. How do you know whether something is from God or from your own head? The truth is, I don't know. But I try and think of it like this: if it is God speaking, then good, if it's coming from your own head, then God will be putting the thoughts in there, as long as you ask him to, which means that either way, God is telling you something. Just don't do anything like jump off a cliff. I would probably get into trouble if that happened. So yeah, trust God.

I know there are kind of two things in this devotional, but they kinda join together. I mean, if you trust God, then he will guide you to the right person that will listen to what you say about God and hear him speak through what you say. We have a mighty King on our side. He can help us to do anything! Trust God. If you feel scared, or stressed out, ask him for peace. He will help you to do what you need to do. This passage is, above all, an encouragement. It's not impossible. The good news is wonderful. it changes people. If something doesn't work, trust God. He made it happen for a reason. Keep going.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for that passage. Thank you that nothing is impossible for you. Thank you that you are always guiding me. Please help me to share your good news with whoever I can. Help me to trust you. Help me not to be afraid.

Amen