Read: Acts 2:1-4, 16-21
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (v. 4)
Before graduating from university, I confessed to a close friend, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it as a grown-up.” I didn’t believe I had the skills to meet the demands of adult life. Looking back, I can see that I was enabled to face each challenge and each new phase of life.
Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus told his disciples that they would do everything they’d seen him do: heal diseases, cast out demons, even raise the dead. Before his ascension to heaven, Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses . . . to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Yet the disciples didn’t have the skills to do any of these things. This wasn’t a problem for Jesus. The story of Pentecost is the story of Jesus meeting his disciples when least qualified, and providing them exactly what they needed to serve and follow him.
Everyone has moments when they recognize they don’t have what it takes. If you haven’t yet had that experience, you will. Life eventually brings circumstances we’re not naturally equipped to overcome. But the great gift of belonging to Jesus is the simple assurance that he calls and qualifies the unqualified. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to be “disciple material.” He promises to meet us when we feel the least equipped and even at times the least inspired. By his Spirit, Jesus leads us into his best plans for us and equips us to follow him every step of the way. —Ben Van Arragon
As you pray, trust that Jesus will give you everything you need.
About the Author
Ben Van Arragon is the Minister of Worship and Leadership at Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
