Read: Acts 4:1–22
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. Acts 4:20
It wasn’t long before Peter and John were hauled before the Jewish council for preaching and teaching that “in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead.” When something is new, people often resist it, even if what is new is better than what is old. It is part of our human nature that we gravitate toward that which is familiar, comfortable, and safe. God, however, calls us to lives that are daring, bold, and a little risky. For when we push out into the new world and the new life God extends before us, that is when we grow into new people. Peter and John were experiencing the blessing of the new thing God was doing in their lives, and there was no way in the world they were going to keep quiet about it.
What new thing are you resisting in life?
Lord, grant me the courage to break out of the well-worn patterns of my life so that I can branch out in new directions. You call us to shed our old habits and vices, to claim a renewed and redeemed life. Push me, pull me, prod me—do whatever You have to do to get me to move into new experiences without reservation. In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN.