阅读经文 

司提反刚刚讲述了神对亚伯拉罕的应许。他解释了神如何与祂的百姓立约，并成就这个约。（参徒 7:2-50）然后他又控诉大祭司和其余的官长，说他们杀害了“那义者”耶稣基督。

司提反的境况在那一刻就变得恶化了。宗教统治者被激怒了。他们极其恼怒，把司提反拉到城外，用石头打他。

你是否经历过在看到别人正身处艰难时想到，“如果这种事发生在我身上，我真不知该怎么办？”在司提反的故事中有一个令人震惊和敬畏的场景。

他们逼问他的时候，司提反就明白神的大能与他同在。他看见天开了，他从神得了安慰。

当我们面临艰难危险，或者感觉整个世界都在和我们作对的时候，那其实是一个让我们经历到出人意外的平安的转机。这样的时刻可能会令人感到很艰难，但它同时也可能是一个靠近耶稣的机会。

人们说，在困难时期，最好的问题或许不是“主啊！为什么？”而是“主啊，祢要启示我什么？”

Stephen had just spelled out the story of God’s promise to Abraham. He explained how God had made a covenant with his people and had fulfilled it (Acts 7:2-50). Then he charged the high priest and the rest of the ruling establishment with the murder of “the Righteous One,” Jesus Christ.

And at that moment Stephen’s day got much worse. The religious rulers were enraged. They were so angry that they dragged him out of the city and stoned him.

Have you ever seen someone going through a tough time and wondered, “I don’t know what I would do if that happened to me”? Here’s a wonder and awe moment in the story of Stephen.
As they pressed him, Stephen understood the power of God’s presence with him. He saw heaven open, and he found comfort.

When we face tough times or when it feels like the world is against us, that can actually be a moment when we can know the peace that surpasses all understanding. A time like that can be hard and trying, but it can also be an opportunity to draw close to Jesus.

People have said that perhaps the best question to ask in tough times is not so much “Why?” as “What are you revealing to me, God?”