The Right Response to Hard Times - Acts 4:23-31

© April 7th, 2025 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Acts

John Lennon once famously said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” (The quote originally came from a man named Allen Saunders in an article in Reader’s Digest.) It doesn’t take long of living life for you to realize that it rarely goes the way you would have drawn it up. Many people look back at the life they thought they were going to live and the life they are living and see a bit of a disconnect. If that describes you, know that you’re in good company.

Today, we’re going to look at a passage that gives us an example of how to handle the times when life doesn’t go the way we drew it up. The disciples faced this reality frequently. Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the were constantly questioning Him, wondering what He was doing, when He was going to act as they thought He should. When He died, they were sent into a tailspin. When He rose again, they began to understand a bit more. They had to rethink everything, but they began to see with different eyes. And when Jesus ascended back to heaven, they were thrown for a loop once more. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were encouraged and emboldened, but still not entirely sure what lay ahead.

In our passage today, we see the response of the disciples after yet another twist in the road. Over the last few weeks, we have traced the saga of Peter and John at the temple. They healed a man who had been crippled for more than 40 years. When a crowd gathered, they began to preach the gospel. This upset the religious leaders, who had them arrested and then threatened them, telling them not to speak about Jesus any more…or else. With great boldness, Peter and James responded by asking, “Should we obey you or God?” They silenced the Sanhedrin with this response. The leaders simply reiterated their threats and let them go.

The power of the religious leaders was now aligned against them, just as it had been aligned against Jesus. It would have been easy for these men and women to become afraid, discouraged, or confused. But we’re going to see how they responded to this unexpected turn—and I believe their response is the right one. There are five different things Peter and John did, and I think they are the same things we should do when we face unexpected circumstances as well.

Seek Out Other Believers

Luke records what they did when they left.

23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. (Acts 4:23, NLT)

The very first thing Peter and John did after leaving the presence of the Sanhedrin was to go and find the other believers so they could tell them what had happened. I don’t think they did this so that they could tell the other believers that the time of speaking about Jesus was over, and that they must now turn their attention to other pursuits. On the contrary, they wanted to talk to the other believers about what had happened and to encourage them and find encouragement from them!

This is a picture of what the church is supposed to be. We are supposed to rally around one another in times of trial and hardship. We should encourage each other, pray for each other, and remind each other of the truths of scripture. One of the purposes of the church is so that we never face anything alone. God has given us each other so that together we can find a strength greater than any one of us could possess on our own.

In the United States, we tend to be fiercely individualistic. We believe we do not need anyone’s help, and that to ask for help is a sign of weakness. This attitude is not all bad. It drives us to work hard and not give up just because things are hard. But sometimes it also causes us to carry burdens alone that God intends to be shared.

I have had a few seasons of significant difficulty in my life. They were times that humbled me greatly. I was used to being the rock, the person other people could come to for comfort and peace. I was used to being the one who did the ministering, not the one who was ministered to. But I learned something in those times—God has given us a body of believers who can surround us and lift us up when we are weak. There is a great blessing that comes when you allow others to minister to you. As I look back on those times in my life, it still brings tears to my eyes to think about the kind ways people cared for me. I think about how many were praying for me, checking in on me, were willing to be a listening ear, and occasionally offered advice or insight to me. This is what God made the church to do.

Sometimes, in the midst of crisis, we begin to pull away from others and isolate ourselves. When difficult times come, sometimes people disappear from the church. The disciples understood that the church was their refuge. In the times when life feels uncertain, when we feel overmatched by the latest twist in the road, we need each other! We need people to pray for us, to pray with us, and to encourage us and remind us of God’s promises. We need people who will empathize, listen, and simply love us as we wait for the storm to pass. When hard times come, we should run to the people God has given us for just such times—our church family.

Pray

The second thing we see the disciples do is immediately turn to prayer.

24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’

27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:24-30, NLT)

I love that the immediate response of the believers was to pray. And it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? When we encounter situations that are bigger than we can handle, shouldn’t we turn to the One who can handle them? The disciples seemed to naturally understand this concept, so they immediately began praying together.

Most Christians struggle with prayer. It’s a difficult discipline, because unlike in face to face conversations with other people, God rarely, if ever, responds to us audibly. As a result, prayer can feel like a one-sided conversation, and at times, we begin to wonder if our prayers are even doing anything.

Sometimes we struggle because we aren’t even sure how to pray. I suspect the prayers in our church services sometimes contribute to that. Much of our prayer time in our church services is spent praying for sick people or people in crisis. This is not a bad thing, of course! We should be praying for such people—that is the right response—but our prayers should not focus only on asking God for miraculous intervention.

Notice what James said in our call to worship today,

13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:13-16, NLT)

James seems to indicate that prayer is always the right response. We should pray when we are happy, we should pray when we are sad. We should pray when we are sick and should pray when we have sinned. We should pray with each other and for each other. This is the example we see throughout scripture—people prayed in almost every circumstance, for almost every reason.

I used to find the Psalms difficult to read until I realized that many of them are really prayers to God. And there is a great variety of prayers represented there! There are prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of asking for God’s help, prayers of lament, of people pouring out their hearts to God and expressing their fears and frustrations. There are even angry prayers, where people are asking God to intervene and punish their enemies. Some prayers even question God!

What does all this teach us? It teaches us that prayer is honest! Biblical prayer causes us to bare our hearts before God and to be open with Him about what we are feeling, even when what we are feeling is something we know is wrong. But biblical prayer doesn’t stop with telling God how we feel. It also reflects on what God has said in scripture.

A significant chunk of the disciples’ prayer God is scripture! Why is this beneficial? It reminds us of who God is, of what He has promised, and how He is faithful. When we pray, we speak to God, and in the scriptures, God speaks to us.

What I love about the psalms of David is how there is usually a shift in focus midway through them. Several psalms begin with David complaining to God, crying out in his misery and frustration. But inevitably, they end with David reminding himself of God’s faithfulness, and even though the situation may be the same as when David began his prayer, David is not the same.

James promises that the fervent prayer of righteous people is powerful and effective. We should take that to heart, and come to God in prayer for any and every circumstance. Prayer is not just about giving God our list of requests (notice, most of the disciples’ prayer wasn’t asking for anything), it’s about working to align our hearts with His. That is always the right response to hard times.

Rest on Sound Theology

The third thing these disciples did right was to remind themselves of who God is, because when we see Him accurately, it should give us confidence that no matter how big of an obstacle we face, our God is bigger.

You are probably familiar with Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip. There is one comic that touches on this truth. In it, Linus and Lucy are sitting at a window watching the rain come down. Linus tells Lucy that he’s worried the whole world will flood if this keeps up. Lucy tells Linus that can’t happen because God promised Noah He would never flood the world like that again. Linus responded by saying she’d taken a great load off his mind. And Lucy’s response was insightful, “Sound theology has a way of doing that!”

She’s right! And the disciples understood that. They began to pray and immediately their minds turned to Psalm 2. They knew that what this Psalm taught was particularly relevant to their situation. Luke only records a few verses but let me read a bit more of the Psalm so you can understand why they found strength in these verses.

1 Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” 4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. 6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” (Psalm 2:1-6, NLT)

As we read the greater context of this passage, I understand why the disciples found comfort in it! It talks about the futility of arguing against the Lord. David talked about the rulers of the world getting angry with God and deciding to rebel against Him. And what was God’s response? Laughter! I believe this might be the only place in scripture where we are told that God laughs. Why does He laugh at these powerful rulers opposing Him? Because He knows they are not nearly as powerful as they think! God knows that these people will not prevail, and in fact, those who stand against Him will be crushed.

This was a huge comfort as the disciples thought about their current situation. But they didn’t stop with this psalm; they also recounted God’s past faithfulness they had seen with their own eyes. These same people who were threatening them had previously threatened Jesus. But just as God was in control in that situation, He remained in control of this one. The disciples recognized that nothing was outside God’s control, and that God was good, so they had nothing to fear, no matter what lay ahead for them.

Sound theology has a funny way of setting our minds at ease. When we have a proper view of God, it will also lead us to a proper view of our situation. When we see how big God is, we also see how small our situation is in comparison. This should give us confidence to keep moving forward, no matter what.

I’m reminded of the hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, which says this,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

When we feel overwhelmed by what the world throws at us, fix our eyes on Jesus. As we realize how big He is, the other things will not seem nearly as big. Recognizing God for who He is helps us put our problems in the right perspective.

Strive for Obedience

The last thing the disciples did was to strive to be obedient. This was the only thing they actually asked God for,

29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. (Acts 4:29, NLT)

They didn’t ask God to silence the religious leaders. They didn’t ask them to protect them. They didn’t ask God to make their lives easier. They simply asked that God would give them the boldness to do what was right. One of the commentaries I read this week said that boldness means pushing through our fears to do what is right. It doesn’t mean we aren’t afraid, it doesn’t mean that we might rather not go through the trial before us. But it does mean that we believe God enough to do what is right, even if it looks like it might cost us or be hard. We believe that God’s way is always the best way—even if it’s not always the easy one.

When trials come, ask yourself, how can I serve the Lord faithfully in this moment? How does God want me to behave, what does He want me to do, what does He want me to learn? Sometimes God puts opportunities before us in those times that would otherwise not be available to us. We must be alert and willing to be obedient.

As Christians, we do not have to pretend we aren’t afraid. We can be honest about the fact that we fear what may happen, or about what a certain course of action might cost us. But we should always follow up our fear with a reminder that God is with us, and we do not need to be afraid. Because if God is for us, who can be against us?! (Romans 8:31)

Look for God

The last thing we see in this passage is God’s response to the disciples’ prayer.

31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31, NLT)

Why would God cause the meeting place to shake? I believe it was to remind them He was with them. He was reminding them that they did not have to face this trial alone or in their own power. The result? They preached the word of God with boldness. God answered their prayer and enabled them to serve Him boldly, knowing that He was with them in every circumstance.

I don’t think I’ve ever had the room shake after I got done praying or in the midst of a trial. But I can think of many times where I have seen God’s hand in those trials and was reminded that He was with me. One of the things I loved about the mission trips we’ve taken our students on was that they would encourage us to look for “God Sightings” throughout the day. These were ways in which we saw God show up, where we were reminded of His presence, and we knew He was working among us. I would encourage you to look for “God Sightings” in your daily life, and especially in the times when you are facing hardships. I suspect that if you pay attention, you’ll see myriad ways that God causes things to “just work out”, or where you have a “close-call”, or you “get lucky.” These things aren’t coincidences, they are reminders from God that you aren’t on your own, but that He is with you. Pay attention, and allow those things to make you bold for Him!

Nobody likes hard times. But hard times should not destroy us. Rather, they present opportunities. They often present an opportunity to learn something, to grow our faith, and maybe open new doors to witness to Him that we haven’t had before. They are opportunities to see God’s faithfulness up close and personal.

When trials come, we face a choice of how we will respond. There are lots of bad and unhelpful ways to respond, but I think the way the disciples responded is a pretty good one. Recognize the resources God has put at your disposal and use them! Find strength in other believers, remember that God is with you, and then serve Him boldly, even if life isn’t going the way you planned it. Find comfort that God’s plans are perfect—just keep holding on, knowing that you never walk alone.

© April 7th, 2025 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Acts