Day 13 – God Speaks Through Circumstances
As you begin to spend time with God, settle yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Spend a few moments gathering your thoughts, becoming aware of God’s presence with you and in you.
Journal for 5 minutes on yesterday’s reflection and practice. What did you think about and learn? What challenged you? Did God say anything to you throughout the day?
Then, begin today’s devotional.
Read: Acts 8:26-19
An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”
God’s voice can take many different shapes and sizes. Elijah heard God in the stillness. For Peter, God’s voice came as a vision. David heard God through worship and adoration. Jesus withdrew in prayer. Moses saw God in the burning bush. God communicated to the Israelites on stone tablets. Paul beheld the blinding brightness of the glorified Jesus. For Joseph, the father of Jesus, God came in a dream. Our hope lies not in how God speaks, but in the fact that he does speak.
Today, I want to explore with you how God speaks in and through our circumstances.
When we read the biblical names above, it can be easy to put these people on a spiritual pedestal, thinking that they were perfect followers of God with their whole lives figured out. In reality, each of these figures were also sinful human beings (except Jesus), with real issues, real problems, and real circumstances that they needed God to speak to and show up in.
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch demonstrates one way that God speaks through and directs our circumstances. In Acts 8:26, we see the disciples and apostles going around preaching the Good News of Jesus, and God speaks to Philip. “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’” God spoke to Philip and just said, “Go”. So, Philip, trusting God, went south on the desert road and met the Ethiopian eunuch, who was reading in the book of Isaiah and did not understand what he was reading. Philip got in the chariot with the eunuch and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to him. The eunuch put his trust in Jesus, and was so excited about his new life that when he saw water, he urged Philip to baptize him. As the man came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit carried Philip away to a town, and there he kept on preaching the Gospel.
Philip let his geographical circumstances guide him as he remained a willing vessel for God’s kingdom. Through Philip’s obedience and letting God speak to him and guide his circumstances, the Ethiopian eunuch was saved, baptized, and his life was made new.
Let the circumstances of your life be a vessel to hear God speaking to you and directing you. Look for the kingdom opportunities in whatever circumstances, locations, or situations you end up in. Maybe it isn’t random or unexpected; maybe it’s a divine appointment and God is speaking to you and nudging you to hear Him and act. God desires to both use your circumstances to bless and preach to people—like Philip—and God desires to speak to you through your circumstances—encourage you, mature you, guide you, correct you, and be with you. Your circumstances are a place where God is speaking to you and through you.
Prayer:
Father, you are speaking to me in all my circumstances. May I have eyes to see and ears to hear all that you are doing around me, in me, and through me. I desire to abide with you, and recognize your presence in every aspect of life.
Journal:
Take a few minutes to think back at moments in your life, and intentionally look for places where God showed up in those circumstances. (i.e. provided for financial need, brought a person into your life, opened doors for work or for school, nudged your heart to make a certain decision, etc.)
What current circumstances might the Holy Spirit being speaking to you in? And what is He trying to say? Who is He trying to reach through you?
Today’s Practice:
Pick one part of your day (Ex: going to the grocery store, in your class, at a coffee shop, etc.) and, before going in, ask God how he wants to use you in that circumstance. (Ex: pray for a person, give a word of knowledge to someone, start up a conversation, bless somebody with a free drink or groceries, etc.) Don’t limit what God might want to do in and through you in this.