It's here: Part 9 of the 9 part series - how to get prayers answered
The Acts of The Apostles - D17
DAILY DEVOTIONAL
8/17/20262 min read
Stoned and Standing
"However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city."
— Acts 14:20 (NKJV)
One moment the people of Lystra wanted to worship you. They called you a god, brought sacrifices to your feet, and celebrated the miracle they had just witnessed. You tore your clothes and pleaded with them to stop, pointing them instead to the living God who alone was worthy of their praise.
It didn't last.
Before long, the same crowd that had admired you was persuaded to turn against you. The voices that had shouted your praise now shouted for your death. Stones replaced applause, and you were dragged outside the city and left for dead.
How quickly the opinions of people can change.
It is tempting to think the greatest danger was the stones, but perhaps the greater danger was the applause that came first. Both had the power to pull your eyes away from Christ. One tempted you to believe too much about yourself, while the other tempted you to believe too little. Neither voice spoke the truth.
Paul was able to stand again because he had already settled whose voice mattered most. On the road to Damascus, Jesus had called him by name, forgiven his past, and given him a new purpose. From that moment on, his identity was no longer determined by the changing opinions of people but by the unchanging love of Christ.
The same choice confronts us today. We can spend our lives chasing approval and fearing rejection, or we can rest in the assurance that our worth has already been settled at the cross. The voices around us will continue to change, but the voice of Jesus never will. He still calls us His own, and that truth is strong enough to keep us standing when everything else is trying to knock us down.
Ask yourself whose voice has been shaping your identity. Choose today to rest in Christ's unchanging love, allowing His opinion of you to matter more than the approval or criticism of anyone else.
Scripture Promise:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." — Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
Prayer:
Father, thank you for showing me who I am in You. Help me to honor that in Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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