If you have ever assembled furniture, a toy, or pretty much anything else, you know how important good, clear instructions are. There have been times when I have found myself scratching my head, baffled by what I was supposed to do because the instructions were unclear. It’s no fun at all. It’s frustrating. For some, it’s even enough to quit, box everything up, and return it.

This week, we get to look at the encounter of Philip and the Ethiopian official. Now, this is an important account because it further affirms that the gospel is for all people—it crosses all ethnic, political, social, and all other kind of boundaries we might create. But it is also helpful in challenging our assumptions of God—assumptions that He will always provide us with clear, simple instructions to follow.

God often gives incomplete commands

How might we have responded to God’s vague command to go to a desert road had we been Philip? I don’t know about you, but I would have wanted to know more.

Why? What should I do there? Can you be more precise about what part of that road? When? Now?

But Philip put me to shame and got up and obeyed the command without any fuss. He seems to have understood something that I still balk at—that God often gives us incomplete (from our perspective) commands. Why? Because He tells us what we need to know, when we need to know it. No more. No less. In doing this, God reminds us who is in charge (hint: it’s God) and He gives us the opportunity to build our faith.

Think about this pattern in Scripture. Happens quite a bit, right? God told Abraham to go to a land He would show him. Joshua was told to have his army do something irrational without knowing the outcome. Same thing with Gideon. Jesus’ invitation to His disciples was a rather vague “follow Me!”

There are surely times when God gives us more details, but the point here is that we cannot, and should not, count on that. Rather, we should see that as God’s further grace and goodness.

For us, the challenge is to trust God enough to do what He says—no matter how detailed or how vague—when He tells us.

God often gives difficult commands

God’s incomplete commands are challenging enough, but on top of that, His commands are also quite often difficult. We have to think practically when we read Philip’s account here. Philip arrived at the desert road and he sees the Ethiopian official in a chariot—did you catch that? A chariot. As in, a vehicle propelled by one or more horses. As in horses, which are stronger, faster, with better endurance than people.

And what command did God give Philip next? To chase down that chariot.

I’m a runner. Even on a lighter recovery run, having a conversation while running can be quite difficult! Yet, that is what Philip had to do. He had to jog, or perhaps even run, alongside a chariot and talk to the driver. Difficult. Uncomfortable and a little weird too. But again, Philip gives us an admirable example to follow as he did just what God commanded of him.

Once again, we can see that this is a pattern in Scripture—God often gives difficult commands to His people. Do we think it was easy for Joshua and Gideon to rally their armies? How about Moses leading such a stubborn people before that? How about Joseph and Mary to raise Jesus?

Why does God give us such difficult commands? So that we will be forced to rely on His power, His strength, His abilities and not our own. Once more, our faith grows as a result too.

For us, the challenge is to rely on God’s power and not try to white-knuckle it on our own. Our abilities, strength, and determination might take us far, but never far enough. And each step we go on our own robs God of His deserved glory. So let’s seek to put our own efforts to death and let God do the difficult things in us and through us.

God always gives unchanging commands

I’m sure that Philip was quite relieved when the Ethiopian invited him into the chariot. When he did, we see Philip obey another of God’s commands. What you don’t see it in the text? That’s because it is not here, but rather back in Acts 1:8. And Matthew 28:18-20. And in many other places in Scripture. All of what happened on the desert road that day was undergirded by Christ’s prior command to make disciples. That command did not need to be uttered again, because it still stood. The command to make disciples us an unchanging command, as are all of the rest of God’s universal commands.

Let’s get practical. We know this to be true, but sometimes we don’t live out this truth. We can make excuses. We can rationalize.

“That command is more for others.”

“I’m going through a difficult season right now; surely God is OK if I take a break.”

“I am supposed to share the gospel, but not with him.”

“I’m too young.”

“I’m too old.”

“I’m in the prime of my life and too busy.”

The list of excuses goes on and on. Shocking, isn’t it? No, not that we make excuses, but rather that we actually think God would agree with any of them.

For us, the challenge is to live in a way that positions God’s unchanging commands to be at the center of all that we do, not the periphery. Making disciples needs to be our priority in our homes, in our churches, and in our communities. Making disciples is ambiguous at times. It is hard at times. But it is our unchanging mission as long as we draw breath. Let’s fulfill this mission.

Faith means abiding in Christ … it means receiving Christ … and therefore embracing him in total trust. Such trust is always a costly thing, because it involves us in surrendering our lives to Christ.” — Sinclair Ferguson

Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1981), 66.

Every week, members of The Gospel Project for Kids team offer guidance to help you as you prepare to teach every session to preschoolers and kids.

Podcast (kidsleadertraining): Play in new window | Download

This training is available on Ministry Grid, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast platforms.