Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. – Acts 9:43
My wife is currently traveling abroad on a women’s ministry trip. And to be upfront about it, when she first mentioned this to me and where she would be going several months ago, I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Why not Ireland? Or Canada? Or Spain? Or some other place where Christians aren’t met with so much opposition and hostility?
Well, the truth is that God determines where the need is, not me. And my wife was adamant that He was behind this trip, not her. She was convinced that His hand had opened this door of service.
So even though I argued with God about it for a few months, ultimately, He won.
Before she left, my wife tried to ease my concerns by pushing a few buttons on her smartphone and saying, “I’m sharing my location with you. So, you can go into your ‘Find My’ app and you will see exactly where I am 24/7.”
So this past week I’ve been tracking her movements. Although it hasn’t completely relieved my anxiety, it is somewhat comforting to know where she is – or at least where her phone is!
You know, God has His own kind of “Find My” system. Call it God’s Global People Positioning System. He knows where His people are at all times, and more importantly, He places them exactly where they need to be to accomplish His purposes.
And that brings us to Acts 9:43, where we find Peter “staying in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.” On the surface, that may sound like an unimportant detail. But in this brief verse is actually a GPS pin on God’s divine map. Peter wasn’t meant to stay in Jerusalem. God had a bigger plan.
Peter’s stop in Joppa – at the home of a man whose trade made him “unclean” by Jewish standards – was no accident. God was already softening Peter’s heart, preparing him to break barriers and carry the gospel to people he once considered off-limits.
From Joppa, Peter would soon be called to Caesarea, about seventy miles northwest of Jerusalem, where he would share the good news with a Roman centurion named Cornelius and his household. This would mark a turning point in church history – the gospel reaching the Gentiles for the very first time!
If we could track Peter’s movements on God’s GPS, we’d see that every stop along the way wasn’t random but intentional. Each location was part of a larger plan to fulfill God’s mission.
Loved ones, the same is true for us! Whether we’re at home, at work, or halfway around the world, God knows exactly where we are and why we are there. Even when we don’t understand His route or timing, we can trust that He’s guiding us step by step toward His purpose.
Thought for Today: Am I resisting where God is leading me? How might He be positioning me right now for something greater tomorrow?
Former Blackout Artist 