Getting Out of God's Way - Acts 11:17

"And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?" (Acts 11:17, NLT)

After Peter proclaimed the gospel of Jesus in Caesarea to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, a Roman officer, Peter had to explain his actions to the apostolic leadership and believers back in Jerusalem.

As Peter recounted the sequence of events, he explained it was only by God's initiative that he took the gospel to the Gentiles.

Peter testified that it had to be God's work because he observed that the Holy Spirit fell i[on the Gentiles in the same way as on the Jewish believers.

What's significant to me about Peter's role in this notable event is not so much that he overcame his own prejudice to obey God, but that he was willing to get out of the way, out of God's way, and let God do His work at this pivotal moment in the history of Christianity.

God used Peter to prepare the Gentiles' hearts to receive the gospel, then Peter stepped aside and the Holy Spirit took over and filled the Gentiles with His empowering presence and God's saving grace.

What we need to learn from Peter's example is that our service to God, being obedient to God, is about what God is doing, not what we are doing for God.

As Spirit-filled believers we should have the spiritual discernment to know when to stand aside and let God do His work!

"But Jesus replied, My Father is always working and so am I" (John 5:17).