Acts 19:21-41

Be still: You are the God who sees my heart, cleanse me today I pray. Amen

Read: Acts 19:21-41

Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theatre together. (v29)

Encounter: Have you ever noticed that when you try to do the right thing or to live well, things often seem to go a bit pear shaped? When I speak to people in the weeks and months after they've accepted Jesus or are getting baptised, they often speak about how things strangely get difficult in life.

We see this very thing happen in the early church. As the Gospel is being spread, people are starting to put their faith in Jesus. This means those that used to worship idols in temples were no longer giving their offerings to the temple, and the people that made money off that system started to get angry.

The truth is that harmful systems in the world are made and maintained by people because they benefit from them, and when people start getting set free it causes problems! In our passage we see an angry mob start to form that wish to get rid of Paul and his friends. 

Paul, being zealous, wanted to speak to the crowd but he had some good friends that convinced him to take a step back and wait it out. They could see that there was no value in trying to speak to the crowd and could see how dangerous it could have been.

Apply: When things get tough, we can be tempted to charge in and try to fix everything, but having good friends grounds us. When there is chaos, who are the people that can come alongside you and support you? Who can remind you that not every fight is yours? Today I encourage you to pray a blessing on those people in your life; thank God for them. And if you don't currently have that support, ask God to give you some good friends that can come alongside you.

Devote: Father God, thank you for the good people you have placed in my life. I pray also for the people I know need to be strong right now. Be their strength I pray and help me know how to be a good friend.