“But a Pharisee named Gamliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that men be put outside for a little while.”
“For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourself fighting against God.”
We all need a Gamliel. You know the one who says, “Let’s just see where this goes before we jump to conclusions.” The spur of the moment judgment was what all the other Pharisees were about to do. They had Peter and John in custody and were mad and feeling guilty enough to carry out a decision made in haste. Gamliel stands up and gives them a short run down of two other people who came to Jerusalem claiming to be somebody special and both of them flamed out. His speech was so convincing that they let Peter and John go with a warning.
We cannot just stay on the sidelines of life, we have to get into the game and play. Some of our plays are good for first downs and some result in a huge loss, while others even seem to result in turnover that abruptly halts forward progress in our life. The goal of the player is never to give up playing because of a bad play but to keep pressing forward. Not just pressing forward with poor and dumb ideas, but a careful thought out game plan. Gamliel was huge, showing the other leaders that if God was behind Peter and John, they would not be able to stop these men. And furthermore, they would be fighting against God!
Are you fighting against God? The current set of decisions you just made, are they good ones that you don’t have any guilty feelings carrying out? Those guilty feelings are the Holy Spirit trying to get you to stop and listen. The Gamliel of the moment might be speaking trying to get you to stop and listen to what God has to say and to put your quick plans made in haste in the trash can. You might even go ahead and carry out those plans but in the end they are not what God is wanting you to do. Fighting against God is futile. He will always win. He loves you so much and has better plans for you that you cannot come up with on your own. So today, instead of making hasty decisions, stop and listen to the Holy Spirit and pray “it” out. Whatever “it” is, God wants you to know He is working on it. We all need a Gamliel. The Holy Spirit is always talking to you hoping you will listen and take heed. He won’t force you, but the plans He has for you are much better than yours. Are you listening?
Let It Go 
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