There are seasons when life feels settled. Perhaps you have prayed for something, watched God answer, and finally reached a place where you can breathe again. There is nothing wrong with being grateful for that place. But today, standing in Joppa—the biblical city known today as Jaffa, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast—I am reminded of something powerful: sometimes God meets us in the very place where we have become comfortable and says, “I am not finished with you yet.”
That is exactly what happened to Peter here.
Joppa had already become the scene of an extraordinary miracle. Tabitha, a beloved disciple who had died, was raised back to life through the power of God, and Acts tells us that many throughout Joppa believed in the Lord. Peter remained in the city afterward, staying in the home of Simon the tanner. God had already moved powerfully in Joppa. But He was not finished with Peter. While Peter was still here, God was preparing to give him a vision that would take him beyond everything familiar and open a new chapter in the spread of the Gospel.
Acts 10 tells us that while Peter was praying, he fell into a trance and saw a vision from heaven. At first, he did not understand it. In fact, what God was showing him challenged deeply held boundaries and expectations. Peter resisted: “Not so, Lord!” But God was already working beyond what Peter could see.
At the same time in Caesarea, a Roman centurion named Cornelius had received his own supernatural direction from God, and messengers were already on their way to Joppa looking for Peter. When God gives direction, He is able to arrange what we cannot arrange ourselves. Peter received the vision. Cornelius received instruction. Messengers traveled from Caesarea. The Holy Spirit spoke. Pieces were moving together before Peter even understood what God was doing.
Perhaps you are in a season where you need that kind of direction. Maybe the question before you is not whether God has been faithful in the past—you already know that He has.
The question is whether you are willing to let Him lead you somewhere new.
Sometimes we become so accustomed to the way God has worked before that we unintentionally place boundaries around what we believe He may do next. But God is not limited by our expectations. He can move people, circumstances, and situations in ways we never anticipated in order to confirm His direction and lead us forward.
Peter obeyed and traveled from Joppa to Caesarea. There, in the home of Cornelius, something historic unfolded. Peter proclaimed Yeshua, and while he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon those who were listening. Peter began to understand the astonishing truth God was revealing: the Good News of Messiah was also going forth to the Gentiles.
What began with a vision in Joppa became part of a much greater work of God than Peter could have imagined, but it required Peter to be willing to follow when God led him beyond what was familiar.
So as I stand here in Joppa, I am praying for you. Perhaps you need clarity about a decision, or you have reached the edge of what you know and cannot see what comes next. Perhaps life has become comfortable, but somewhere in your spirit you sense that God is calling you deeper, farther, or into something you had not expected.
My prayer is that the Lord will speak clearly to you—that He will give you wisdom through His Word, confirmation through the right people, and sensitivity to the leading of His Spirit. May He remove every limitation we have unknowingly placed around His plans and give us courage to obey when His direction stretches us beyond what is familiar.
Peter could not yet see what waited for him in Caesarea when God first interrupted his prayers in Joppa. He only needed enough faith to take the next step. And perhaps that is what you need today—not the entire map, but the confidence to recognize the voice of God and say yes to the direction He is giving you.
As we pray for you from Israel, please continue to pray for us as well—for the work of the Gospel here, for the people of Israel, and for the Lord to continue opening hearts to Yeshua. And if God places it on your heart to stand with this ministry, your partnership helps us continue proclaiming the Good News, discipling believers, and serving His purposes in Israel.
From biblical Joppa, on the shores of the Mediterranean, may the Lord give you fresh vision, clear direction, and the courage to follow wherever He leads.
Shalom from Israel,
Pastor Israel Pochtar
