The Lord uses time as He sees fit. Sometimes things take a lot longer than imagined as it was in the case of Abraham (See the last devotional). There are other times that we see the hand of God move swiftly and accomplish something that could have taken much longer. For example, the day of Pentecost was a swift and powerful day; God allowed people from all over the neighboring nations to be present in Jerusalem and to get transformed by Peter’s first gospel message!
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:38-41
The Lord strategically had chosen the day of Pentecost for the baptism of the Holy Spirit to occur; this was the day that the Jewish people would come from all over the neighboring nations for the celebration of the Festival of Weeks.
When the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles, they began to speak in different tongues. The people coming from various nations heard their own native language, and they were astonished. Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit gave a powerful message, and the people were moved by the gospel message. The Bible tells us that three thousand people were added to them on that day! That’s amazing!
When Jesus was on the earth ministering for about three years, He only had about a couple of hundred of people who were his true followers. The account in the book of Acts 1 following Jesus’ ascension tells us:
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty). Acts 1:15
God chose to move quickly and swiftly on the day of Pentecost and allowed many to become transformed in a powerful short period of time.
Time is in the Lord’s hands, and He chooses the speed of events happening in our lives. The more we try to control time, the more frustrated we can become. Our part is stewarding the time and the opportunities He has given us to the best of our abilities. Enjoy what we have been blessed with today and try not to focus so much on man-made timelines and goals!
Lord, free us from the bondage of time and help us to trust you with our lives and our years!
