Courage for Every Crisis!

 “Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!”
Acts 5:20 (NLT)

How do you deal with crises?  Some crises are unavoidable. In fact, there’s a false assumption among many believers that a blessed life is crisis-free.  It’s not true.  In Acts chapter 5, we find the apostles in a crisis. They’ve been arrested for the second time for preaching the Good News of Jesus in the Temple by the very High Priest and religious leaders who just had Jesus crucified less than two months before.  Yet, while in jail, the Bible says that an angel of the Lord came at night and opened the gates of the jail and brought them out!  It was the first prison break! Sounds like the crisis is over, right? Hold on. The angel then instructs them, “Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!” Acts 5:20 (NLT). That command would lead to a brutal flogging in verse 40.  Yet, another crisis! In those days, a person being flogged could receive up to 39 lashes so brutal that some even died from the flogging.  How would you respond to that kind of crisis? The Bible says that after the apostles were released, they left the high council “rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. And every day in the Temple and in their homes, they continued to teach and preach this message: ‘The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus.’” (Vs. 41-42).

Wow!  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, these were men of courage and conviction. They didn’t live their lives by convenience and comfort. They understood that obedience may result in the unavoidable crisis of pain and suffering, yet they recognized that being persecuted for Christ led to a deeper kind of blessing.  Do you live your life by convenience or conviction?  Pray for clarity in knowing the will of God, conviction to follow it, and courage to do it even if it means discomfort or crisis.  You’ll experience the same deeper blessing these men did with a message of hope that cannot be silenced! 

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To read this devotional online or catch up on past ones, visit https://kerryshook.org/blog.

Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.

Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.