This week’s pre-assembly devotion is written by Cam Haggett. Cam is a member of College, Salem and serves on the synod council as a representative from the Southern Conference.
____
____
In Acts 10, God reveals a message of hope to Peter, and he doesn’t quite get it right away. God shows him a vision of animals that would have been considered unclean, and orders him to kill and eat them. He tells this to Peter three times, leaving him puzzled. Then, a group of Gentiles show up. Peter realizes that he was shown that he should not call anyone profane or unclean. He understands that God is impartial, and accepts anyone who fears Him and does what is right. Peter has the Gentiles baptized in the name of Christ, because he knows that they have received the Holy Spirit just as he and his companions have.
I’ve often found comparisons between myself and Peter. In this story, God comes in and turns Peter’s worldview completely upside-down. Peter initially reacts to this with complete confusion, even after being told multiple times, before eventually coming to acceptance and understanding. In my personal life, I’ve seen God flip my worldview for the better time and time again. I’m often confused at first, but eventually I see what God is trying to do. Here’s an example.
Much of my late high school and early college career was marked by a complete crisis state over what I was meant to do with my life. I had this absolute conviction that I had to know right now what single career path I was going to follow for the rest of my life. God sent trusted people to talk me through these ongoing crises. I trusted these people with my life, but it took way more than three times for their advice to stick. I finally came to realize that, when my concerns are large, it’s more important to do the next best thing than to chase the bigger picture. Now, when concerns of the future arise, I’m much more equipped to pass them off to God.
For me, this passage from Acts reminds me that God will help us understand. Even though Peter didn’t understand what God was doing immediately, he figured it out. Even when I struggle to see what God is trying to do in my life, I have hope that, like Peter, I will understand when I need to. If God needs to take my preconceptions and turn them on their head, I can trust in His ultimate plan and have hope in the future He intends for me.
___
This week’s prayer requests:
- For Bishop Eaton; Jill Beverlin, our churchwide representative; Bishop Pederson (Southwestern Minnesota)
- For God to strengthen and sustain the Office of the Bishop Staff as they prepare all the things, especially the copy machine
