God provides
by Sean Hotinski
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He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand (Acts 7:25).
Read Acts 7:17–29
The first Christian martyr, Stephen, preached the gospel to some Jewish non-Christians. Because they couldn’t stand up against the wisdom and Spirit with which Stephen spoke, they slandered him before the high priest and accused him of several false things.
In response, Stephen gave them an outline of Israel’s history. When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and Pharoah ordered that all the little boys should be killed, it seemed like all hope was lost. However, God protected Moses by sending him Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. God provided.
When Moses saw an Israelite being wronged by an Egyptian and struck down the Egyptian, he thought the Israelites would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand; however, they did not (Acts 7:25). Only later on did they realise this, when Moses led Israel out of Egypt. God used Moses to save the Israelites, which means that the ultimate ruler and redeemer of Israel is God himself. God again provided.
The point of Stephen’s words is that God was the one who provided for his people, Israel, all along, but they didn’t always see this. In the same way that the Israelite man didn’t understand that God was giving salvation through Moses (see Acts 7:23–29), the chief priests did not understand that God was giving salvation through the hand of his servant, Jesus Christ. Despite this, God still provided for his people in Stephen’s day through Jesus and his redemptive work on the cross.
How many times in your life have you felt like God wasn’t providing for you? Like nothing seemed to be going well? Like all hope was lost? And yet you haven’t perished; you’re still here, with the word of God, reading this devotion. God provided for Stephen by giving him the words to say to his slanderous opponents. Throughout your life, God has also provided for all your needs and will continue to do so in the future. Because no matter what, God our Father is faithful; he will always provide for his children.
Heavenly Father, help me to trust in you always as my eternal provider. Thank you for all the gifts that you daily give to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sean Hotinski is from Perth, Western Australia. He is currently in Adelaide with his wife, Olya, studying to be a pastor and is doing vicarage at St Paul Lutheran Church, Blair Athol. In his spare time, Sean enjoys reading and studying the Bible, looking into Christian apologetics, game design, and going on walks.
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