• Pain hurts. I had a roommate in college that would to tell me, “It’ll feel better when it quits hurting.” Some things just go without saying and this seems like one of those things. Pain wouldn’t be pain if it didn’t hurt, right? However, for many, talking about painful days with some people may seem like the godly response is to move beyond it as quickly as possible and pretend that everything’s ok and I’m not really hurting. It’s similar to the middle-age man who is determined to play in the young men’s flag football league. After the first play, he’s over on the sidelines desperately grasping for oxygen and clutching his hamstring, all the while telling the coach, I’m ok, put me back in! While it is true that moving forward in life is good, acknowledging our pain is a good and godly path too. Read Acts 8:2 “Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.” In the midst of great pain among believers who were being persecuted, the personal “deep” pain of losing someone close was still acknowledged. So, before we move into the other thoughts of dealing with painful days, let me say this, pain hurts and that’s ok.
• God is always at work. Nothing is by chance or out of our loving Heavenly Father’s hands. Jesus had, just a few weeks earlier, told His followers that they would take the Gospel to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the Earth as His last, great commandment to them (Matthew 28). Here in Acts 8:2, we are told that is exactly where those believers went as they were scattered. God was using this persecution to expand the Gospel around the world. God had not forgotten them or His plan. Sometimes it’s in the hardest days that God carries us to a place where we will be most useful to Him and bring the most glory to His name.
• Continue to preach the Word. There’s a college football team that lives by the motto, “Keep Choppin!” In other words, don’t quit putting in the hard work even when you want to give up. Choosing to continue doing what we know to do is sometimes the only thing we can do. Preaching the Word isn’t just the job of preachers or pastors. We are all expected to be ready “in season or out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2) to “preach the Word.” This is exactly what those early believers did. They would share the Gospel wherever they went. Specifically, Philip in Acts 8 went to Samaria and proclaimed Christ to those who were there and performed miraculous signs. It is the Gospel that carries the power of God unto Salvation (Romans 1:16). Our strength in hard, painful times must come from God’s Word. It is our trust in Him and His Word that will fuel His plan in our lives. It is our obedience in doing what we know to do when we don’t feel like it that will help us move forward in our pain.
• Joy can come from pain. Acts 8:8 tells us that as a result of many people in Samaria being healed through the power of God there was “great joy in that city.” I am reminded of the words of Joseph in the Old Testament (Genesis 50:20): “What you meant for evil, God intended for good.” It’s not always immediately clear how God may be bringing joy out of our current situations. We may wait a lifetime or into eternity for the manifestation of God’s plan to become evident, but we can trust Him to keep His promises and fulfil His Word. It’s through our trust in His plan, walking by faith and not always by sight that will bring true joy to our hearts. It’s interesting to note that the persecution had not ended at this time when the great joy was being proclaimed. When we start to see circumstances through eyes guided by faith, we will see cause for celebration and joy all around us even in the midst of pain.