October 29, 2022
“And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32
Peter’s words before the religious council poured forth as a pure and simple matter of fact. There is a tight “circle of friendship” between God’s Holy Spirit and our obedience, which becomes a platform for the display of His grace. Satan is constantly niggling to create a break in that circle. Only our total surrender to the Lord will keep us in readiness for Satan’s confrontation just around the next corner; we are His witnesses!
The obvious purpose of witnessing—to benefit others—also opens the way for the power of God to increase our faith. In God’s inexplicable economy, pouring out our resources of energies and material goods that others may hear of Him has a mysterious way of multiplying blessings in our own lives, for so also the Holy Spirit is a witness to these things, to us and to those around us.
We are [now] His witnesses. We need to acknowledge the direct connection between the words “now” and “grace.” As we grow in the Lord, we gain awareness of just how persistent our enemy works to trip us up. In this awareness, we ought to be growing in two things: a determination—by God’s grace—not to compromise with the subtle ways the devil seeks to establish inroads, and a growing compassion for others because they are also constantly stalked by that lion who seeks to devour them (see 1 Peter 5:8). We must be faithfully seeking grace for every moment and opportunity, for out of His bounty, God desires to pour upon us the needed grace to deal with every current situation, whatever it is. His word teaches us that we may store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20), but grace cannot be collected and stored away. The idea that it can be is demonic and the very foundation of procrastination.
Exercise your will to be obedient to the Lord now. You may say, “I cannot!” but if you truly desire to obey Him, He will supernaturally empower you by His Spirit and lavish His grace upon you for every challenge to your faith. Too often, the declaration of “I cannot!” really means “I will not!”
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. . . . But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. Isaiah 57:15; 63:10