You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. … On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
- from Acts 1:8 and 8:1

Scattering to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth had been the plan from the very beginning of the church. Some of Jesus’ last words to his followers (Acts 1:8) said as much. But it wasn’t easy to leave Jerusalem.

Jerusalem would have been a place of danger and insecurity for Jesus’ followers. It was in Jerusalem that Jesus was arrested and the first martyrs were killed. But it was also in Jerusalem that the followers of Jesus had most experienced God’s power: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit to empower them for God’s mission.

Scholars disagree over how much time passed between Acts 1:8 (where Jesus tells his followers they will be his witnesses) and Acts 8:1 (where persecution drives Jesus’ followers away from the city). Most likely they had settled in Jerusalem for several years. They had established rhythms for worship and witness. They were connecting with God and with each other.

The outbreak of persecution and breakup of the church might have felt like a disaster. The established church became the refugee church almost overnight. But as it turns out, the only way that the mission to the ends of the earth was going to happen was if God disrupted what was familiar and established. The church might not have ever made it out of Jerusalem if not for this period of persecution. Yet in the midst of it, God’s people found ways to love, serve, and honor him.

In our life with God we will – at times – experience disruptive forces. Plans will fail. Foundations will crack. Our feeble walls are scattered by the wind. Yet in the midst of great disruption we have opportunities to love, serve, and honor the Lord.

God is wildly available to us in these seasons of disruption. He does some of his most beautiful soul-transformation work in our lives during these times. Let’s learn to cling to him.