“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV)

It is sometimes easy to get discouraged by the things that are going on in the world around us. It seems as if there is trouble on every side. We hear of injustice, violence, and/or abuse to the point that we may think that evil is winning. We read about the decline in church attendance and religious adherence and wonder what the future may hold. We wonder what kind of world we are leaving for our children and grandchildren.

I wonder if the early Christians felt this way. Think of these people we read of in Scripture. In Acts 1, there are about 120 believers (Acts 1:15). This group faced enormous challenges as they work to carry the message of the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the world around them. They were marginalized, threatened, beaten, ostracized, and killed. From their perspective as at a major disadvantage and pressure from every direction, it must have seemed that evil would overwhelm them.

Sometimes I am surprised by their determination. Aren’t you? Sometimes I wonder if, when faced with the things they were faced with, I would have given up.

But then we remember that this God that we encounter in the book of Acts….this God whose purposes will not be defeated….this God is the same God that we can see all through Scripture.

This God is the same God who spoke this world into existence.

This God is the same God who, when rejected by humanity, made a way for humanity to have a relationship with him.

This God is the same God who saw the evil of the world and decided to cleanse the earth, called Noah. And through Noah’s faithful obedience humanity got another opportunity.

This God is the same God who called Abram out of the Ur of the Chaldees and promised him a great name, descendants, land, and that he would be a blessing to all the nations. Abraham followed and learned to be faithful and obedient.

This God is the same God who gave a son to Abraham and Sarah when they were 100 and 90 respectively. Who gave Isaac to them when they were, as the Hebrews writer said, were as good as dead. God is faithful.

This God is the same God who after 400 years of Israelite slavery in Egypt delivered them from the most powerful nation on the earth at the time.

This God is the same God who when Israel was between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army made a way when there seemed to be no way, and Israel crossed on dry ground. This is the God who told Moses, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” This is the God of whom Moses spoke when he told Israel, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

This God is the same God who led Israel, fed Israel, clothed Israel, appeared to Israel at Sinai and gave instructions so that he could live among Israel in the Tabernacle.

This God is the same God who drove out the Canaanites and gave the Promised Land to the descendants of Abraham.

This God is the same God who was faithful to every one of his covenant promises, even when his people were not.

This God is the same God who, after the period of the exile, made a way for a remnant of Israel to return to the land he promised.

This God is the same God who, when the time was right, sent his own Son who came as an infant to a poor Jewish girl and her intended groom. And when the king wanted to stop this movement of God, Jesus was spared because of the obedience of those who had faith in this God.

This God is the same God for whom the cross would not stop the movement; the same God who raised Jesus from the dead, defeating the enemy that faces all of humanity.

This God is the same God that we have seen empower his people throughout the book of Acts so that the message of the Kingdom of God, the movement of the Kingdom of God would not be stopped.

This God is the same God who invites you and me – incredibly flawed individuals- to partner with Him in this movementthat cannot be stopped. So, when we face doubts and uncertainty, intimidation, distraction, persecution, rejection, bickering, frustration, other religions, or anything else, this God – this God that we read about in the book of Acts and all throughout Scripture – our God who sees us as worthy of his own Son – this God who dwells in each of us as baptized believers – this God is with us. What he asks of us is that we love him, that we trust him, that we are obedient to him and that we partner with him in this movement to change the world.

We have been called to be part of an unstoppable movement. This movement continues and God wants us to take part in it with him. He empowers us, walks with us, and has promised that he will never leave us. He lives in us, and his purposes will be accomplished. His word will not return to him without accomplishing his purpose.