Finding Joy in the Ashes: How God Works Through Our Hardest Moments
Edited directly from the sermon transcript of Matthew Miller’s message at Highland Hills Church of Christ on May 10, 2026. Adapted for length and readability while preserving his voice and message.
What do you do with disasters when they come?
I think about the Scriptures and all these different calamities that came to visit God’s people throughout the ages, many of them of their own making. How did they deal with that?
As one poet said, how do you deal with life when you’re lying face down in the dust of what was your life? How do you get up again from that?
I recall Isaiah chapter 11, one of my favorite places in all of Scripture. Right in the midst of darkness and loss, Isaiah says there’s going to come someone who will have wisdom and understanding through the Spirit. When he comes, the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and a little child will lead them. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
How do you get to that place when it seems like everything that should be happening is not happening in faith?
That’s what gets us here in Acts chapter 8. We’re meeting the church at its lowest moment so far. As we’ve journeyed with the church, there have been great successes and growth. There’s been some internal tension that God has worked through. They’ve maintained the unity, that bond in the Spirit. They’re doing amazing things.
And yet we end chapter 7 with Stephen being stoned to death.
The church recognized that this was not going to be an isolated event. Once you open that box, you don’t go back.
Jesus told them this would happen. But here they are in the midst of their darkest moment. What do they do?
Acts 8 tells us that a great persecution arose against the church at Jerusalem. They were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men carried Stephen to his burial and mourned him. Saul was entering houses, dragging off men and women, and committing them to prison.
Man, this is a dark time for the church, isn’t it?
But there’s a key there I hope we heard. On the surface, it seems like there’s all this difficulty and darkness. Luke tells us the church was at Jerusalem, and then they were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
That’s a very important detail. Before Jesus ascended, what did he tell them they were going to do? “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.”
In the midst of what looked like the darkest hour for the church, what was happening?
God was at work. God was orchestrating things.
There’s intense pressure on the church when people stand up for the gospel. However, God is still at work in the midst of that.
So how did the disciples respond? When you’re experiencing hardship or difficulty, there are different options people seem to choose.
One is the bunker mentality: “We’re just going to hide down in our bunker, be about each other, and not worry about anything else that’s going on. We’re going to be safe.”
The second is what I call the Jonah solution. When things look bad, let’s find that far-off, glossy land where everything will be perfect, and let’s run there. It didn’t turn out so well for Jonah. God kind of met him in the middle of the sea.
There’s the assimilation approach: “When in Rome, just do what they do. Just look like them, and we’ll be very cultural.”
But then there’s the witness. Even if they have to flee, they recognize they have a responsibility, and they don’t keep it to themselves.
That’s what we see the church do: “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” Did you catch that?
Their fleeing was not a running away from responsibility. It was a preservation of life. But as they were going, they were sharing the message.
Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ. The crowds paid attention to what he said, hearing and seeing the miracles he did. Unclean spirits came out, and people who were paralyzed and lame were healed. “And there was great joy in that city.”
There are some interesting parallels with Genesis. At Babel, people built a tower to themselves: “Look how great we are.” God confused their languages and scattered them.
But in Acts, the birth of the church came with them all understanding as one. Now they are one family, one voice, one message that God is scattering to take his glory in a unique way. We see their scattering as obedience.
This church is a new humanity, built in Christ with a new message. Everywhere that message touches, there’s healing. There’s joy.
If Acts chapter 6 was “Everyday ministers step up,” and chapter 7 was “An everyday minister stands firm,” then chapter 8 is “Everyday ministers stand out.” Philip is an example. They’re being scattered because of persecution. But, oh, by the way, as they’re going, they’re sharing Jesus.
There are also other responses. Simon had practiced sorcery and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming he was someone great. When Philip preached, Simon also believed and was baptized. He continued with Philip, amazed by the miracles and signs.
But when Simon saw the Holy Spirit given through the apostles’ laying on of hands, he offered them money. “Give me this power also.”
Here you have an individual who is exposed to the gospel, who I don’t doubt at some level believes the gospel, but unlike Philip has some sordid motives. He sees it as a means of personal gain.
Peter tells him, “Your heart is not right in the sight of God,” and calls him to repent. Simon answers, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
Is that true repentance? His concern is that the consequences of what he has done don’t come upon him. It’s ambiguous whether he really was repentant or not.
We always need to have a heart check. Why are we doing what we’re doing if we say we’re a part of the church?
In our darkest hours, we have to remember that God’s at work. He’s got his hands all in the middle of it. What sometimes we think of as disruption, God is actually working his way.
I remember a painting that was really moving years ago. I wish I could find it to display it. A grandfather had his arms around his grandson. His grandson was weeping, and in front of them was a burning house.
The caption said, “It’s okay, boy. God’s not finished yet.”
When the church meets its darkest hour, we can respond with joy in the gospel because we recognize that, come what may, God’s not finished yet. He’s got his hands, his fingerprints, all over our lives.
But our response is important. Do we choose what Philip did and see an opportunity to share the message? Or do we choose what Simon did and use it for personal opportunity?
As we choose Jesus and his gospel, we’ll see joy in the places where we bring that message. And let me tell you, people need it.
You may be saying, “I know the gospel. I’ve taught others the gospel. I’ve believed it for a long time. But in the midst of my moment, I don’t see God’s fingerprints.”
Some of you may be saying, “Yes, I do feel the joy of the Lord.” Pray that God would open your eyes to those who need to hear that gospel message through you.
Don’t worry if you don’t think you know enough or have all the answers to every potential question. No matter how much you study or how far you go, you won’t have all the answers.
Just go ahead and get that out up front: “Hey, you’re going to ask me something I might not know how to answer, and I’ll just tell you straight up, I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers, but I love God, and I can tell you how to find joy in him. Would you want to listen to that?”
Maybe you don’t know Jesus, and you say, “I need to know that kind of joy.” It’s just as alive and real and active right in this moment as it was 2,000 years ago. It’s just as vital, just as alive.
Christ wants to give you the gift of his love and his redemption. He’s inviting you to it. We would love to walk alongside you as you make that decision.
