“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.’” Acts 4:8–10
When someone is angry with you, it can bring up a whole flood of emotions—frightened, defensive, guilty, and so on. It’s never a fun position to be in, but unfortunately, from time to time, it’s inevitable that someone will be angry with you. Most often, it’s because we’ve hurt them, and we need to work to reconcile with them.
But Jesus also promised that our faith in him would provoke others to anger. We see that in our text for today. Peter was doing exactly what God wanted, but he faced extreme pressure from powerful people who didn’t love Jesus and asked him to defend his actions. What was Peter’s response? Was anyone there to help him?
When we are persecuted for our faith, we don’t have to fear. As this Scripture passage demonstrates, God will give us the words we need. The Holy Spirit filled Peter with God’s power in that moment, and he said exactly what God wanted.
When we face hard things from people who don’t love Jesus, he promises to be with us.
Read
Why does Jesus say we shouldn’t worry about what to say when we face opposition?
Prayer
Our Father, thank you that you promise to be with us when we are persecuted for your sake. May you use the words you give us to bring honor to your name, and may some even be saved because of them. Help us to be faithful. Amen.
This devotion is adapted from Week 8 of the Acts Study Guide.
For more on this topic, check out Pastor Mark’s sermons “Persecuted in Smyrna: Faithful No Matter What,” from The Seven series, and “Joy in Conflict,” from The Rebel’s Guide to Joy.
