A phone call, a text message, a diagnosis or a closed door can change everything in a moment. When it does, is God still working? “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
In Acts 8:1–8, Stephen has just been stoned for preaching Christ, and a great persecution breaks out against the church in Jerusalem. Believers are dragged from their homes and scattered into Judea and Samaria. It looks like a disaster, but Luke shows us that God was using the scattering to spread the gospel exactly where Jesus said it would go (Acts 1:8).
Being in God’s will doesn’t mean you won’t suffer
Stephen was full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, and he still lost his life. Following Jesus doesn’t promise that every door will open the way we expect. “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Persecution doesn’t always look like a prison cell. Sometimes it’s a friendship that ends or a room where you’re no longer welcome because of where you stand. But not every disagreement is persecution. Jesus calls us blessed when people speak against us falsely on His account (Matthew 5:11).
Persecution can’t stop what God is doing
“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). The enemy can silence one voice, but he can never silence the church. God used the pressure to move His people out of their comfort zone and into the regions He had already named. What looked like an ending became the next chapter of the mission.
You can serve God while your life still feels unsettled
The scattered believers didn’t wait for life to settle down before they shared Jesus. They carried Him into their new reality. Philip went down to Samaria, a place many would have avoided, and proclaimed Christ. The crowds listened, unclean spirits came out, the paralyzed and lame were healed, “so there was much joy in that city” (Acts 8:5–8). The place you never expected to be may be the very place God wants to use you.
When one chapter closes, another one opens
Jesus said the gospel would go from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. That progression didn’t stop with the early church. Your steps are not an accident. When everything around you changes, the Lord is still ordering your steps. Where is He sending you in this new season?
A prayer for today
Lord, when everything around me changes, help me trust that You are still working. Give me courage when following You costs me something. Use me right where I am, even while my life feels unsettled, and let Your joy fill the places You send me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Based on Pastor Niel Petersen’s Sunday morning message at Harvest Revival Center, October 18, 2026.
