Suffering But Secure
How do you keep going when life feels like one long storm? Pastor David Rose walks us through Acts 6-7 to see how God raised up ordinary believers to meet needs, how He poured out wisdom and power through the Spirit, and ultimately, how He walked with His people through suffering.
What was true for them holds true for us now. The Spirit still meets us, often right in the middle of our storms. In suffering, everyday service, or when you find yourself questioning, He anchors hope that won’t let go. It’s a call to lean deeper into prayer, community, and the humility that comes from knowing the Gospel holds us fast. It’s a call to shelter in the Gospel and trust our faithful Savior in every trial.
If you’re carrying questions, pain, or disappointment, this is an invitation to trust the Gospel, to see how Jesus meets us, and to know that the Spirit’s power is for you even when life feels out of control.
Key Takeaways
- God raises up Spirit-filled members to meet needs. (Acts 6:1-7)
- God gives grace and power for challenges (Acts 6:8-15)
- God uses His story for His glory (Acts 7:1-50)
- God calls sinners to repentance (Acts 7:51-53)
- God comforts the suffering with the Spirit (Acts 7:54-60)
Further Study
- Take a minute to read Acts 6:3. When the church needed help, Acts 6:3 says they looked for people “full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” How does this match Paul’s teaching that every Christian is gifted for ministry (see Ephesians 4:11–13, Romans 12:4–8)? How might seeing yourself as Spirit-filled shift your view of service, both at church and in your day-to-day life? Where is God positioning you to meet real needs, not relying on your skills, but trusting Christ’s sufficiency in you?
- Acts 6:7 says the word of God kept spreading and “many priests became obedient to the faith.” Christ promised in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 that it’s God who gives the growth. How do those realities free you from measuring your life or ministry by visible “success”? What could it look like to find rest in faithfulness, knowing the advancement of the gospel never depends on you, but on Jesus?
- Stephen’s blunt words in Acts 7:51–52 point out a heart problem familiar in Romans 3:9–18, our tendency to resist God’s correction. Where are you tempted to defend yourself, justify your behavior, or shut out God’s voice? What habits or practices help you stay soft and responsive to the gospel?
- Stephen sees Christ standing at God’s right hand in Acts 7:55–56. It’s a picture echoed in Hebrews 7:25 where it says that Christ always lives to intercede for us. When suffering or rejection comes, how does knowing Christ personally welcomes you before God shape your hope and your courage? When you’re overwhelmed, what would it mean to “look up” and rest in His advocacy for you?
- Stephen’s final words echo Jesus on the cross (see Luke 23:34, 46), showing forgiveness and trust. Does the gospel’s assurance free you to forgive people who’ve hurt you, even when you don’t feel vindicated? Where is the Spirit inviting you to risk love instead of holding onto bitterness?
The Gospel
If you have questions about what it means to be a Christian, we would love to talk with you about it.
Reach outThe Gospel is the great announcement at the center of all of Scripture. Though humanity was made for fellowship with God, our sin separated us from Him (Genesis 3). Left to ourselves, no amount of religion, good works, or church involvement could restore what was lost. But God, in love, did what we could never do. He sent Jesus, the perfect Son of God, truly God and truly man, to live the life we failed to live and die the death we deserved. On the cross, Christ took our punishment, absorbing the wrath of God so that sinners might be forgiven (Romans 3:23–26).
But the story doesn’t end with a tomb. Christ rose from the dead, defeating sin and death once and for all (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). He ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He now lives to intercede for His people, as Stephen saw in Acts 7. That means that our security is not in ourselves, but in a living Savior who welcomes us home. All who turn from sin and trust in Christ alone are brought from death to life, adopted into God’s family, sealed with the Spirit, and promised eternal hope.
This Gospel means that Christians, like the early church in Acts and like Stephen, are not secure because life is easy, but because Christ is with us. Even suffering or dying cannot shake what Christ has secured. The invitation is always open: Jesus offers forgiveness, freedom, and His very presence to any who will come. The door is open, not because we prove ourselves, but because Christ has finished the work and calls us to trust Him.