8 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.

A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. ² (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) ³ But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.

⁴ But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. ⁵ Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. ⁶ Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. ⁷ Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So there was great joy in that city.

Acts 8:1-8

Dear God, this passage from Acts actually plays into the verse of the day from Bible Gateway:

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).

We are all foolish and we have no idea what you are up to, whether we believe in you or not. For Saul and the other Jewish leaders at the time, Jesus’s message as carried by his followers was foolish, but those who were being saved through that message knew what was coming from you out of it.

What strikes me about this passage is how those who thought they were winning were actually losing, and those who thought they were losing were actually winning. None of them had any idea in real time what what happening around them.

I know that Paul would look back on this time (when he was still Saul) with tremendous regret (1 Corinthians 15:9). I am sure he was horrified at what he did to persecute Christians before his own encounter with Jesus. And, frankly, I’m not sure anything less than the encounter he had on the road to Damascus would have converted him. When he was Saul, he thought he was winning and fighting the good fight for you. He was ignorant. In fact, he was losing because he was scattering your believers out of Jerusalem and spreading the message farther.

The people who were being persecuted probably felt like they were losing. I can imagine conversations between husbands and wives or friends and how they made their decisions to leave Jerusalem. I’m sure there was a lot of fear. Children were being uprooted and moved. Their friends were in prison and likely beaten or tortured.

So I’ve made that point there. The question for me today is what in my life feels like loss but is actually accomplishing your goals, and are there things where it feels to me like I’m “winning” when I’m actually losing? There are certainly sorrows that I lament every day. Are those “losses” somehow being used and redeemed by you? There are also areas of great success. Are any of those actually pitfalls that I should not embrace but discerningly question?

Father, at the end of the day, well, I just have no idea. I’m too small-minded. I’m too ignorant. But I’m here to worship you this morning. I’m here to submit to you. I’m here to try to do what you want me to do today. For the things that look like losses, I will look to you and see if there is anything for which I need to repent or if they are situations I should simply submit to. For the things that look like wins, I will try to critically look at them and discern if there is anything I need to do to see through any personal benefit I’m receiving (whether materially or emotionally) and determine how to worship you best through it. Holy Spirit, please help mem with all of this today.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen