In Him We Live: God's Presence Through Hardship

Devotional

Day 1: Altars of the Unknown

Paul walked through Athens, his spirit stirred by countless idols. He saw altars to Zeus, Athena, and even “an unknown god.” The Greeks built temples to cover every possibility, fearing they’d miss a deity who might punish them. Paul didn’t mock their shrines. Instead, he pointed to the God who already held their lives: “In Him we live and move and have our being.”[56:04]

The Athenians’ anxiety mirrored our own. We stack backup plans like bricks, trusting resumes, savings, or routines to save us. Paul revealed a God who needs no appeasing—He sustains breath, jobs, and relationships before we ask.

Where have you built “altars” to false securities? List three moments this week when you scrambled to control outcomes. What would it look like to kneel at Christ’s feet instead?

“For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
(Acts 17:28, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one “unknown god” you’ve silently trusted—a relationship, habit, or plan you’ve elevated above Him.

Challenge: Text one friend this phrase: “God’s got this. Let’s pray about it together.”

Day 2: Temples You Don’t Need

The Athenians built marble temples to gods of war, harvest, and sea. Paul stood on the Areopagus and declared, “The God who made the world doesn’t live in temples.” He pointed to their “unknown god” altar—proof they sensed a gap no idol could fill. Jesus, Paul said, was the answer to their restless rituals.[56:43]

We still craft temples: perfect homes, social media personas, or 60-hour workweeks. These modern altars whisper, “If you achieve this, you’ll finally rest.” But Christ needs no monuments. He built the universe with a word.

What temple have you polished this month? Name the shrine—your reputation, child’s success, or retirement account. How might you walk away from its upkeep today?

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.”
(Acts 17:24, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one “temple” you’ve maintained out of fear. Thank Jesus He’s already your shelter.

Challenge: Delete one app or mute one account that fuels comparison for 24 hours.

Day 3: Earthquakes and Sustaining Hands

Paul knew suffering—beatings, shipwrecks, riots. Yet he told the Athenians God “gives everyone life and breath.” Even in 2008’s financial crash or a friend’s hospital vigil, God doesn’t panic. The disciples’ scars proved His presence when storms hit.[01:00:43]

We brace for “the big one”—divorce, layoffs, or loss. But Jesus, who calmed seas and walked through walls, holds your shaking hands. His scars remind: He enters brokenness.

When has God met you in a crisis? Recall His faithfulness aloud. What fear feels too seismic to surrender today?

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way.”
(Psalm 46:1-3, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for one past trial He carried you through. Ask Him to anchor you in today’s uncertainty.

Challenge: Write “In Him I move” on your wrist. Reread it every time you check the time.

Day 4: From Babbler to Truth-Teller

Athenians called Paul a “babbler”—a scavenger of half-baked ideas. Yet he stood before philosophers and declared Christ’s resurrection. He didn’t weaponize their mockery. He leaned into their curiosity: “Let me tell you about this ‘unknown god.’”[52:30]

People may dismiss your faith as naivety or intolerance. Paul shows us to engage, not attack. His calm reply turned sneers into seekers.

Who makes you hesitant to speak Jesus’ name? A coworker? Relative? What if you asked them one question: “What gives you hope?”

“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.”
(Acts 17:16, NIV)

Prayer: Ask for courage to gently confront one person’s “idol” this week—not with words, but Christlike love.

Challenge: Compliment someone’s kindness or skill, then say, “God’s grace shines there.”

Day 5: Breathed By His Life

Paul ended his speech with a jolt: God commands repentance because He’s set a day to judge the world. The crowd scoffed—but some believed, including Dionysius, a court member. The same God who breathed life into dust breathed faith into skeptics.[01:18:14]

You don’t need eloquence. The God who formed galaxies can stir hearts through your stumbles. Your job isn’t to convince—just to testify.

Who seems “too intellectual” or “too broken” for Jesus? How could you invite them to glimpse His story this week?

“For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
(Acts 17:28, NIV)

Prayer: Pray for one person far from God. Ask for a chance to say, “Let me tell you why I hope.”

Challenge: Share this verse with someone today: “In Him, we live.” No context needed. Just plant the seed.

Sermon Summary

We have moved through Acts into a new phase where the movement spreads beyond Jerusalem and collides with cultures that do not share our assumptions. We see a repeating pattern: the gospel advances, opposition rises, and followers endure arrest, beating, and misunderstanding. The advance never removes hardship. The story shows that growth and suffering travel together as the message reaches new places.

We encounter a scene in Athens that exposes how people attempt to manage uncertainty by crowding their world with gods and practices. The religious landscape becomes a safety net of temples and offerings intended to control fortune. That strategy fails to address the deeper longing for a sustaining presence. The inscription to an unknown god captures both the fear and the curiosity people feel when their systems no longer soothe the soul.

Paul responds not with shaming but with an audacious reorientation. The argument moves from many local deities to the Creator who is not contained by temples. The claim lands clearly: in this God we live, move, and have our being. This shifts the goal from securing outcomes to trusting an ever-present source of life. That claim reframes worship, mission, and how we face loss, uncertainty, and catastrophe.

We also hold a pastoral honesty about suffering. Catastrophes, economic collapse, and the sudden terror of loss do not disappear because the gospel advances. Yet the God portrayed sustains people through waiting rooms, through floods, and through seasons of rebuilding. The presence of God does not promise easy trajectories. It promises presence that changes how we interpret hardship and how we move into the world to introduce others to a God who holds them.

As we leave, we remember the central summons: the God of creation sustains our life and action. We carry that truth into classrooms, workplaces, hospital corridors, and neighborhoods. We will look for opportunities to speak plainly about this sustaining God, not by accumulating religious safety nets, but by showing people what it looks like to live and move by a presence that endures in suffering and in joy.

Key Takeaways

1. Gospel advances through ongoing suffering We accept that expansion of the message often coincides with resistance and pain. Growth in witness does not produce tidy progress reports. We must expect and name persecution, not as failure, but as a mark of movement into new ground where people and systems clash. [39:37]
2. God alone sustains our being We reframe religion from a system of protective practices to relationship with the Creator who inhabits no shrine. Life and identity rest in a sustaining presence rather than in rituals meant to guarantee outcomes. Our confidence must root in communion, not strategies. [55:40]
3. Religion seeks safety in many gods We notice that people assemble many gods to cover every risk when they cannot bear uncertainty. That strategy shows both fear and a yearning for control, and it opens a door to honest conversation about a God who does not require bargaining. We must meet curiosity with clarity and compassion. [51:24]
4. Presence matters in the waiting We remember that God’s sustaining presence shows up most plainly in liminal places waiting rooms, recovery, loss. Presence does not erase pain but reshapes endurance and witness. We live into that presence by staying and by inviting others to the same. [60:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:05] - Shift in Acts: Sending the Church
[39:37] - Pattern: Gospel Meets Persecution
[40:17] - Scene in Athens: Acts 17 Begins
[51:24] - The Unknown God and Idols
[55:40] - In Him We Live and Move
[60:43] - God’s Presence in Hardship
[78:14] - Invitation and Sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Acts 17:16-34 (ESV)
Paul’s address in Athens, focusing on the "unknown god" and the declaration that "in him we live and move and have our being."
- 1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV)
"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Observation Questions

In Acts 17, how does Paul use the Athenians’ altar to an "unknown god" to introduce the true God? What does this reveal about his approach to sharing the gospel?
The sermon mentions that people often create "religious safety nets" to manage uncertainty (e.g., temples, rituals). What examples of this behavior were described in the sermon? [50:31]
According to the sermon, how does the presence of God reshape our experience of suffering, even when hardships remain? [01:00:43]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Paul emphasizes that God "is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything" (Acts 17:25) in a culture obsessed with rituals and offerings?
The sermon states, "Growth in witness does not produce tidy progress reports." How does this align with the pattern of gospel advance and persecution seen in Acts?
How does 1 Corinthians 1:18 ("the word of the cross is folly") challenge our tendency to rely on human strategies rather than trusting God’s presence?

Application Questions

In what areas of your life are you tempted to create "religious safety nets" (e.g., routines, rituals, or plans) to control outcomes instead of trusting God’s sustaining presence? [50:31]
The sermon describes God’s presence in "waiting rooms, recovery, and loss." Share a time when you experienced God’s nearness in a difficult season. How did it change your perspective on suffering? [01:00:43]
Paul reoriented the Athenians from many gods to the one true Creator. Who in your life might be open to a compassionate conversation about a God who "holds them" even in uncertainty?
How can you practically demonstrate reliance on God’s presence (rather than your own strategies) this week in a situation that feels overwhelming?
The sermon warns against viewing persecution as a failure. How might this truth reshape your response to opposition or misunderstanding when sharing your faith?

Sermon Clips

In him, we live and move and have our being. Again, we have a people who have made temples and worship sites to all these different gods to make sure they have all their bases covered. And then Paul comes along and he says, hey. This god this god that you missed, in him is your your life and and your source of life. Through him, we live, move, and have our being. This is the god you can trust. This is the god who sustains you. This is the god who moves you. This is the god who continues to hold you through the hardest times. [00:55:38] (52 seconds) #SourceOfLife

Whether you're someone who is frantically finishing up a semester, a term finals, I don't know how close we are to finals pretty soon. Whether you're someone who's floundering in your job or in your life, whether you're coming off of a terrible situation and getting back on your feet, whether you're someone who's just experienced a loss in your life, or whether you're someone who's just figuring out how to get by, whether in a completely new situation or in the one you've been in for some time. I invite you to remember as we leave this place that God the God of creation is the one who sustains us, and in him, we live, we move, and we have our being. Go in peace. [01:17:19] (65 seconds) #GodSustainsYou

But like you were saying, Josh, god is there in the midst of it, and god is sustaining us through it. So if you're going through something heavy or if you've been through something heavy or if you haven't yet, but you know eventually you will. I think our call to you would be that god is there and god continues to be there with you through it. [01:00:53] (52 seconds) #GodIsWithYou

People people lost a lot in that. People lost homes. I was watching it was it was really good and ended kind of, you know, hopeful, but I was watching a documentary PBS did about the big one, the big earthquake that, theoretically, is is coming at some point in the next fifty hundred years. It'll it scared the bejeebus out of me at at at the start. You know, there are things in life that we can't predict that are absolutely terrifying. And there are things that we go through that seem, like we'll never make it to the other side. Anyone who's ever lost anyone close to them knows how this feels. [00:59:57] (57 seconds) #FacingTheUnknown

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

How does God sustain us through suffering?

What does in him we live mean?

How can we witness without sounding condemning?