Take a moment to read Acts 4:23-37 before reading the devotional below.
The work of the Holy Spirit reveals the kingdom of God. Here in the second section of Acts 4, we see more pictures of the coming kingdom. Like looking through a family photo album, seeing these snapshots gives us a greater understanding of the home we’ve not yet seen fully.
Notice from the passage some of the things that seem to just be springing up in ways that are quite opposite of how things normally go here on earth. In verses 24-26, the believers’ reaction to news of their friends’ narrow escape from prison is immediate corporate prayer. And not in the way you’d expect (“Dear Jesus, thank you for helping us not go to prison, keep us safe and comfortable from this point on…”). Instead of feeling a mix of scared and relieved, they go right to Scripture and see much more clearly that prophecy is being fulfilled. This realization causes them to ask for increased boldness. The Holy Spirit brings about spontaneous prayer, greater understanding of the spiritual realities around them, and then makes his presence physically obvious with a giant shaking of the room. And once again the chapter ends with an ongoing restoration of the word “family” as believers, living fully in the Spirit, sharing everything and developing deep community.
If you are discouraged about what you see in the world around you or you feel like you just don’t “fit” here in this world, that makes total sense. God’s kingdom is your real home. How do I know? Because humanity was designed to live in a world that included constant intimacy with God’s Spirit. When we experience that, we see God’s hand bring about kingdom experiences such as those in Acts. When we have disruptions in our connection with the Spirit — which is guaranteed to happen in our fallen world — things go wrong and we know in our guts that something is just not right. And that will drive us to our knees and to Scripture every single time.