The things which God had done among the Gentiles.

Acts 21:17-21, And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And now the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. And after he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

The good news is that Paul had taken the gospel to the Gentiles, operating under the authority of the leaders in Jerusalem. The bad news is that this had drawn fire from many enemies, not only among those worshiping idols, but among the Pharisees and other leaders. The plan for Paul to keep the local customs soon stirred up a new mob to come against him. And yet this is God’s plan for getting the good news of Jesus Christ into the very heart of the beast of the Roman government! How often do we complain about circumstances and trials instead of asking God to show us how He wants to use even this to glorify His name?

We want to bring glory to Your name in every circumstance, O Lord.