Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Acts 1 and Psalm 65

The disciples returned to Jerusalem in obedience to Jesus’ command, to await their infilling with the Holy Spirit there. They “joined together constantly in prayer”, eagerly anticipating His arrival and, I suspect, praying fervently for His help in the great mission Jesus had left them to complete.

During these days of prayerful anticipation before they had been sent the indwelling Holy Spirit, Peter felt strongly guided by the Scriptures and declared that they were supposed to select a replacement for Judas (v.20 where Peter quoted Psalms 69:25 and 109:8). Knowing that an apostle was by definition an eye-witness of Jesus’ resurrection, he declared that it was necessary for this replacement to have been with them throughout Jesus’ ministry.

So this is what they proceeded to do. They used that objective criterion for selecting the qualified candidates (Barsabbas and Matthias) and they prayed. Then, because they did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit yet, they used the Old Testament method of determining God’s will by casting lots (see Proverbs 16:33). We could criticise this method, but I think we should rather learn something from the general principles they applied for making decisions about God’s will. They obeyed Jesus’ direct instruction, they were in unity and fellowship with each other, they prayed, they searched the Scriptures, they deeply desired to do God’s will, they used their common sense, and then they surrendered it to the Lord’s guidance the best way they knew how.

Life application: Is there a tough decision you’re wrestling with at the moment? Good news: You do not need to cast lots, because you have the indwelling Holy Spirit. This passage indicates you would be wise first to ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to know His will. Then obey whatever you already know the Lord has told you to do, call on trusted fellow-believers to join you in prayer for discernment, listen to their counsel, search the Scriptures for applicable principles or commands, and use your common sense. Rely on the Holy Spirit throughout this process of discerning, and then make a decision based on all of the above, surrendering it to the Lord, and step out in faith and obedience, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide you each step of the way.