Acts 4:3-4
“They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.”
Let’s talk quarantine for a second (the world’s least favorite, but still trending topic). I spent 50 days quarantined in Idaho. Most days I was hunkered down in the house, sitting at the kitchen island typing away behind shiny glass doors that let lovely light flood into the room and remind me that the outside was so close, yet so far.
We’re spending most (if not all our) days thinking of what we’ll do when all this is over. Are we not? We’re thinking of making tentative plans. We’re wondering what school will look like in the fall. We’re calling our friends to plan social distancing walks and picnics for next week. We’re trying to move around this not-so-time-sensitive obstacle and make our own way.
I want to tell you a story. There once were two men, Peter and John. They were Jesus’ disciples and they were determined to share the good news of the gospel to the ends of the earth. No obstacle, no quarantine, nothing at all would stop them. And then they were seized, arrested, thrown in a jail cell. Sound a little like being locked up in quarantine? Slightly worse, but you get it.
Imagine taking that “L.” You’re sharing the good news of Jesus and you’re thrown right smack in jail. Nothing was going to stop them, remember? But jail? I feel like there’s no way good could come from being locked away in jail. And just like Peter and John, you might be sitting at home bored in the house scrolling for days on TikTok, feeling like you took a massive “L.” Here’s the crazy part. Acts 4:4 takes the story one step farther and we see that Peter’s and John’s big obstacle, the thing that got in their way, was actually the ultimate way, God’s way, a part of something more. Lots and lots of people came to know Jesus because of the obstacle these brave men faced.
Sometimes the obstacles in our lives, the things we’re fed up with, confused by, frustrated with, become the way Jesus moves and works in our lives and other’s lives. Some days, facing your obstacles may be uncomfortable, but God’s working in and through it all.
Take a second today and reflect. Reflect on how Jesus may be using this season, your obstacles, maybe even the ins and outs of quarantine to work things together for his good. When the obstacles become the way, the way Jesus changes us and others, it’s important to step back and process that. Journal and chat with Jesus for a few minutes today and ask him where he’s at in the obstacles and how he’s making a way for his will to be done.