‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17:28 NIV)
In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul is addressing a group at the Areopagus in Athens. They were a religious people, but mostly Pagans and idol worshippers, not Christians. He speaks of an inscription on an altar, which says, “to an unknown god.”
In reference to this altar, in Acts 17:24-31 (NIV), he says, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”’”
In today’s world, we are regularly surrounded by things that could cause us to be troubled. We hear distressing things from many different sources; media, doctors, finance and relationship advisors, and the list goes on. So, it can be very uplifting when we focus on Almighty God and His attributes, instead of how things appear around us.
The first time that this Scripture became personal for me was in the days prior to a major surgery that I had, just over ten years ago. The medical experts told me that without the surgery, I would eventually become non-cognitive or lose my life. They also informed me that if something went wrong during the surgery, neither continuation of my life, nor my cognitive functioning were guaranteed.
That was a very vulnerable time for me as there was literally nothing that I could do to help myself. My very existence on this earth was entirely in God’s hands. All I could do was pray and trust Him, and that is exactly what I did. As I spent time meditating on this Scripture, I became stronger; emotionally and spiritually.
Well, I’m still here…THANKS BE TO GOD! God works through human hands, as He did for me through the Doctors and other medical professionals in that situation. But, ultimately I was in His hands and I remain there each and every day, through every situation that I have to face.
Whatever you may be going through right now, please have faith that if you invite Him in, He is faithful to be with you through everything YOU face. He is bigger than any problem in our lives. It’s “in him we live and move and have our being.”
Almighty God made all of Creation, He gives us everything we need including every breath we take AND He sacrificed His Son, Jesus, to endure Calvary’s Cross. It is because of Jesus’ death and resurrection that we can be forgiven for our sins and spend all of eternity in His presence. Jesus Christ will judge us, and He alone can forgive our sins.
Since my surgery experience, I have relied on the message in this Scripture many times, in various situations. There are many times in our lives when we are inclined to pray, “God, where are you? I need you now.” I am so thankful that vs. 27 (NIV) reminds us, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”.Regardless if you’ve never done it before, or if you have done it numerous times, I encourage you to reach out to Jesus, and you will surely find Him. You are completely secure – In His Hands.
My prayer is, “Lord, I praise and thank You for Your ever constant love and care through all of life’s troubles. Please help me to cast all of my burdens on You. I know I can trust You to work all things together for my good. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
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