Fear And Comfort

Acts 9:26-31

The church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31, ESV)

THE EARLY CHURCH WAS TERRIFIED of Saul, scarcely able to believe that this terrorist’s transformation was real. But it was also amazed by the work the Spirit was doing, how he was changing lives and advancing their cause. These were days of awe, an unusual window in time and space through which eternal purposes were pouring into the visible world. God was clearly doing something new.

In a sense, that’s always true. God is always moving, always doing something new, even when we don’t see it. He never changes, of course, but his Kingdom never stops growing. He is accomplishing great things in our midst. We may wonder if the church is growing—so many stories of decline seem to filter through media from time to time, even when global numbers prove them false—but the issue is never whether God is at work. The greater issue is whether we have eyes to see what he is doing. When we do, we can no longer be comfortable with the status quo.

That’s the message Acts gives us. The church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Spirit. Those attitudes may seem contradictory to us, but they are characteristic of days of awe. When people of faith have eyes to see, we experience the sobering reality of God’s work and the comforting assurance that we are part of it. We become aware that we are living in unprecedented times. Our entire lives turn Godward.

Learn to recognize the work of God—in your life, in your society, in your world. The headlines will not reveal it to you; just the opposite, in fact. But the Spirit will. God is saving, healing, and delivering people even in the most unexpected places. Cultivate your vision to see what he is doing, align your steps with his, and be amazed.

{Lord, your people have longed for the presence and power early believers experienced. Surely it has never gone away; the growth of the church is phenomenal. Open our eyes, inspire our hearts, and call us ever increasingly into your work. Restore our awe. Amen.