Wisdom from a quiet heart
by Linda Macqueen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
… you will only find yourselves fighting against God (Acts 5:39b).
Read Acts 5:27–39
There are a lot of themes we could explore in today’s text, but I can’t miss the opportunity to talk about my second-favourite Pharisee. (Nicodemus is my favourite.) In Acts 5, the apostles stand before the Sanhedrin, accused of defying strict orders to stop teaching about Jesus. The council is furious, intent on silencing these heretics once and for all. Then, into the strained atmosphere steps a devout and highly respected Pharisee. His name is Gamaliel (who was Saul/Paul’s teacher – Acts 22:3).
Gamaliel doesn’t puff his chest out like a peacock. He doesn’t join the chorus of outrage. Instead, he offers a measured, almost understated word of caution: ‘Consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.’ His counsel is simple: if this movement is merely human, it will collapse on its own. But if it is from God, no amount of force will stop it, and opposing it would place the Sanhedrin on the wrong side of God’s purposes.
Gamaliel is not dodging his leadership obligations by sitting on the fence. His counsel is not passivity; it is discernment. It is the refusal to be swept along by fear, anger or groupthink. It is the courage to pause when everyone else is rushing to judgement.
Is it just me, or do you also see a cultural shift towards instant reactions, accompanied by fierce rhetoric? Enemies are easily named. Outrage is applauded. Nuance is dismissed as weakness. And we see Christians, too, drawn into this vortex – quick to label, quick to blame, quick to draw battle lines.
Gamaliel invites us to a different approach. One that trusts God enough to wait. One that believes truth does not need panic to sustain it. One that remembers that the kingdom of God does not advance through force, fear or frenzy, but through the quiet, steady and sometimes off-script work of the Spirit.
Perhaps the most radical witness we Christians can offer today is not louder certainty but deeper calm. Not sharper lines between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ but more space that leaves room for God to act, however and wherever he chooses. Today, my second-favourite Pharisee reminds us that wisdom often sounds like a gentle voice saying, ‘Slow down. Look again. Perhaps God is in this picture.’
Wise and faithful Father, help me to resist the pull of reactive living, of jumping quickly to judgement and outrage. Instead, cultivate in me the quiet confidence that your purposes will stand – whether or not I rush to defend them. Amen.
Linda Macqueen retired in September last year, having served 26 years as editor of The Lutheran and communications manager for the LCANZ. She has rapidly adapted to retirement, happily and energetically bringing her long-neglected home and garden back to life. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills with her husband Mark.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
