“And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes...” How do we know? When things go wrong, it is often hard to see any good at all.
For example, Stephen was martyred for his faith. Those who knew him understandably thought this was terrible. The ensuing persecution even scattered many believers out of Jerusalem. What good could possibly come from this? It turns out: a lot. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the faith. Those who were displaced took the gospel with them, sharing Jesus only with fellow Jews.
But some of them went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also. The good news was for the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. This is good news. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. It took the martyrdom of Stephen and the persecution of the church to push the early believers out of Jerusalem. But their departure led to the salvation of the Gentiles.
Not everything that happens to us today will be good. But God can bring good out of the worst things that happen to us. Best of all he empowers us to spread his good news to all people.
Years ago we went with our students to Budapest Hungary. We were welcomed into St. Stephen’s Basilica. I saw a long line of people, so I joined them, paid ten forints, and waited for my turn. Eventually, I looked through a glass case at the hand of St. Stephen. The basilica’s claim to fame was they had the hand of one of the saints in their building. But the early church knew a greater hand. The Lord’s hand was with them as they fulfilled the great commission and took Jesus to the ends of the earth. We need the Lord’s hand more than the hand of any other person.
