https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/06/12/reaching-the-ones-wed-rather-avoid?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8rhGNRLZFoHzFcbsnFRi3S-Q9g18vfx7S2oww4AZypmeZ9QbM3F-vR72D8Er-7RSMdUAVqwhzXbAmghIWLRA1dXl794Q&_hsmi=361886440&utm_content=361886440&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_threadReaching the Ones We’d Rather Avoid
June 12, 2025
by Lysa TerKeurst
President and Chief Visionary Officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries
“The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’” Acts 8:29 (NIV)
There were many places I had dreamed of visiting in the Holy Land. I anticipated that the sights and sounds would move my heart deeply as I walked where Jesus walked. When our guide pulled over to the side of the road at an unmarked, unremarkable-looking place, I was underwhelmed. Our teacher walked to a place covered with brush and pointed to a rocky path. We gingerly made our way behind him and soon came upon a road. With great enthusiasm, the teacher said, “This road is where a man learned of Christ and received the Good News!”
We walked a little farther and saw a hole in the ground. “This place of water is where the man was baptized shortly afterward, and he went away rejoicing. We should rejoice!”
We opened the Scriptures to Acts 8:26-39, the story of an Ethiopian man who was a eunuch. But even then I wondered why our teacher picked this spot to highlight on the tour. He whisked us back on the bus with one final statement: “Individuals matter.”
Those two words have lingered in my thoughts and made this underwhelming stop one of my favorites. Recently, I reread Acts 8. Here are three instructions that I'm asking God to help me live out with all my heart and mind:
1. Go near. “The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it’” (Acts 8:29).
The man from Ethiopia was different from Philip, not in his inner circle, comfort zone, or immediate sphere of influence. And yet the Spirit instructed Philip to go close. God, help us. May we break out of the boxes of our normalcy and dare to go close to those who aren’t like us. By going close, we see things we need to see and hear things we need to hear. Our hearts become tender.
2. Gain understanding. “Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet” (Acts 8:30a, NIV).
Philip ran. This took effort, energy, and intentionality. Then, instead of wielding God's Word like a weapon and haphazardly throwing Truth at this man, Philip listened. Based on what he heard, Philip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading. Philip discerned a need and sought to meet that need, letting the man's agenda come before his own. God, help us. Instead of running alongside people, seeking to understand them, we sometimes tend to run over others with our agendas, perceptions, and points of view. Let's seek to be discerning, not demanding.
3. Earn the right to share. “So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him” (Acts 8:31b, NIV).
Once Philip drew close and gained understanding, he earned the right to share his faith. Acts 8:35 goes on to reveal that Philip began where this man was studying in Scripture and “told him the good news about Jesus” (NIV).
God, help us. May we go to people. Listen to people. Start where they are, not where we want them to be. And from their point of need, lovingly share the good news about Jesus.
Philip continued to travel down the road with this man for a bit. “As they traveled along the road, they came to some water ... Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38, NIV).
And the man went on his way rejoicing.
Looking back at that seemingly uneventful day in Israel, I’m so thankful our teacher took us to that place. There were no signs and no tourists. This was an uncommon stop in the Holy Land. May we all dare to be a little more uncommon more often.
