When God Shows but Does Not Tell

Acts 11:28-29 One of [the prophets] Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world… And in the proportion that any disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

The Bible is filled with examples of God giving specific commands and instructions to his people. From the first command to humans in first chapter, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it,” (Genesis 1:28, NAS) until the last command, “Let the one who is thirsty come and… take of the free gift of the water of life,” (Revelation 22:17, NIV) God usually tells people what  to do. However, there are many occasions that God gave a prophetic picture of what was going to happen but the Bible seems to indicate the Lord let his people decide what to do about the impending reality. Acts 11:27-30 is one of those occasions.

The prophet Agabus came to the young, growing, mixed-race Antioch Church and “signed through the Spirit” that a famine would hit the entire world. (Worldwide natural disasters are not a new thing in 2020!) This wording makes it clear the Holy Spirit gave Agabus a picture of what was going to happen. Luke’s wording here in Acts does not say that vision came with instructions to the church. Instead, he wrote, ”They determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.” This word (orisan in Greek) means to appoint, to set a boundary, and, ultimately, to determine, implying those doing the determining have the authority and responsibility to decide.

It seems the Antioch Christians heard Agabus’ prophecy, believed it, and started to consider its implications. Although a famine would be hard on everyone, they had just received visitors from Jerusalem who gave them an update on the state of the Christian church there. Although the Jerusalem Church was the oldest church in Christianity (Acts 1:14) and was seen as the central place of Christian authority (Acts 15:2 & 22:17), they had faced persecution for years (Acts 8:1) that probably made it difficult for people economically. Many of those in Antioch had done well financially and chose to draw from their savings help the Jerusalem Christians. They got together and “determined” to send some money and realized they need to make sure the money would get their safely, so they chose Barnabas and Saul (later Paul) to take it on their behalf.

Many of the decisions we face in life have relevant specific biblical instructions. We do not have to wonder if we should tell the truth or pay our tithe. The Bible is clear However, we may occasionally run into a situation like the people of Antioch. We can see what is coming. God may give us a supernatural sign through a prophecy, vision, or dream. There may be clear, yet natural, indications of coming change. It may be up to us to decide what to do about it. If you are uncertain, don’t be afraid to reach out to other mature Christians. Notice the Antioch Christian’s decision was corporate: they determined. It may have been a process to come to the decision, but they decided together.

Sometimes God tells us what to do. Sometimes it is completely up to us. Sometimes he shows us what will happen and lets us decide what to do about it.