In working through the Book of Acts once again, the Holy Spirit paused me at the point where Peter received his vision on the rooftop (Acts 10:1-16). This time He wanted me to see something that I had not really thought about when reading this passage previously. He wanted me to realize that God wants to give us more than we can imagine. And if we will pay attention to Him, He will give us something more than we have today, something that we never expected. He will define our next step and then arrange everything to fulfill the revelation of the Truth He has revealed; the very thing He has prompted us to desire.
In my experience, and I believe it’s the same for all believers, God usually follows something He is revealing to us with some personal experience to get our thinking in line with His truth; just like He did for Peter. While Peter was having His vision, God was at work arranging the situation for Peter to see more than just the vision. While Peter was being shown that nothing is unclean in God’s eyes, God was preparing a Gentile heart to blessed by Peter.
This event reminds me that it seems like the Lord usually works in three ways in my life as He continues to expand my understanding of His perfect will for me. First He creates a willingness to respond, then He shows me something in His Word that reorients or challenges my understanding of His Word, and then there always seems to be some sort of physical sign that confirms this new truth.
While not trying to put God in a box, I think that when we see Him expanding our understanding in this way we can be pretty certain we’re on a path of new discovery. And, just like it was for Peter, this process is going to stir up some uneasiness in us. And the reason isn’t difficult to understand: God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient… and we aren’t! He knows exactly what we need along our path to Spiritual Maturity and He will continue to orchestrate the revelation of His Truth, a Truth we need to understand and apply to our walk with Him. It’s God’s delight and joy to spring these little surprises on us, and then sit back and let His Holy Spirit take us through the process of establishing each new Truth in our heart by living it out.
And isn’t that what it’s all about? He leads us into an ever-increasing level of faith in Him and His Word. Each time we see Him follow-up on some new truth with a confirmation in the natural we can’t help but have our faith energized and increased. Just like He changed Peter’s attitude toward Gentiles, God wants to change our attitude toward something. And, if we will receive what He has for us and act on it, our relationship with Him will grow deeper. As we experience the reality of what He is teaching us, our level of trust in His faithfulness will grow.
So, when God reveals a new truth to challenge our understanding, we can’t afford to parrot Peter’s first reaction… Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. What we need to do is be obedient to His Word, even if we don’t understand at the outset. Just like Peter… Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.
Yes, while Peter wondered (dienthumoumenou; revolved the truths in his mind, over and over again), God didn’t want his “wondering” to delay his action. He wanted Peter to get moving and take action on this new revelation. So, while Peter wondered, God had already arranged the next step. What that tells me is that when He does the same thing for us, we can be certain that He has already arranged our next step. We need to hear the same words from the Lord that Peter did… Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.
As one commentator put it. God had given Peter the strategy of revelation: the inspiration of the truth, the interpretation of the truth, and an opportunity to act on the truth. We need to take that strategy to heart and act on it like Peter did. I have seen it take place many times in my own life and in the lives of others that have received some new truth in a Bible study, a class, or a message from the pulpit. The Lord will usually provide some following situation or circumstance in life that will allow us to take action; the first stage of learning. God has it all prearranged, we just need to heed His Word and arise and go, doubting nothing, and expecting Him to reveal the next step. Our response to God’s revealed Truth, our obedience to His Word, will open up the way for us to experience His Truth in ways and in opportunities we would never have experienced otherwise.
God immediately gave Peter a chance to try out his new-found wisdom in his attitude toward the Gentile messengers from Cornelius. He gave Peter the opportunity to cooperate with Him as He was staging the full revelation of the truth about His love for “all” mankind. Peter listened and he acted… the rest is history. What history does God want to make in cooperation with you and me?