Abide Devotion for December 24, 2014

Acts 7:4-16

⁴ “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. ⁵ He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. ⁶ God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. ⁷ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ ^{p 8} Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

¹¹ “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. ¹² When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. ¹³ On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. ¹⁴ After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. ¹⁵ Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. ¹⁶ Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. ^[1]

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Stephen is recounting the history of God’s people in his defense before his attackers. But what struck me as I thought on this passage today is the fact that God is the real actor and mover here. God sent Abraham to the land of Canaan. God promised him a future. God was with Joseph in Egypt, and so Joseph was able to do all he did there in rescuing his family. God was the prime mover in the story of Stephen’s family.

Today on Christmas Eve, we’ll all likely hear or read or watch the account of the birth of Jesus. Here too, God is the prime mover. Not only because it’s the birth of the son of God, but that every important event is marked by His fingerprints: The announcement to Mary, the vision of Zechariah, Joseph’s dream, the angel’s announcement to the shepherds, the warning to the Magi. God was the director, moving the characters to play their part according to His will.

Am I seeing God as the prime mover of my story? Do I see God’s hand in the events of my life? What about the events of this week? The same God who led the Israelites is the God who is in our lives today.   And even though my life may not seem as dramatic as Abraham or the birth of Jesus, God is still at work.

And that should lead me daily to consider the “Kairos” questions:   What are you saying to me today God? What do you want me to do about it? I am to live my life expecting that God is the director, and so spend time seeking His direction for the role I am to play today.

So my prayer today is for discernment is hearing God’s voice and following His leading, that even though His direction may not be as obvious as an angel’s proclamation or a star in the sky, I may still hear Him and follow.

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

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^[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Ac 7:4–16). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.