Paul Encouraged by the Lord

“The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’ “ –Acts 23: 10-11 (NIV. Read Acts 23: 1-11).

Being a Christian and called of God to do a special work in His Kingdom is not always easy. God does not promise us a way of ease. But He promises to be with us always, in whatever circumstance we face. The account of Paul’s trials given in Acts reads like high drama, which it is. He was brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin. He gave his story. He had once been a devout Jew and when the Christian movement began after the ascension of Jesus, Paul was one of the most devout of the persecutors. But God changed direction for Paul on the road to Damascus. At this point in the drama revealed in Acts, Paul has been arrested in Jerusalem and is giving testimony before the Jewish Sanhedrin. He tells passionately and clearly what the Lord has done in his life to turn him around and make him a messenger of the good news to the Gentiles.

And right in the midst of Paul’s testimony, the Sanhedrin divides according to their beliefs.. The Pharisees, who believed in the resurrection form one faction and the Sadducees who are anti-resurrection are the other faction. Their attention temporarily was focused more on their own quarrel than on their prisoner, Paul. The commander of the Roman garrison, whom we learn later from the letter he wrote to Governor Felix on behalf of Paul (Acts 23:26-30) sent soldiers to rescue Paul again from the Jewish mob and secured him in the barracks.

That night, in the quietness of his cell, the Lord appeared and spoke to Paul, giving him encouragement and purpose: “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome” (Acts. 23:11). Sometimes in our darkest nights, as with Paul, God appears to us to say, “Take courage!” He reminds us of His presence and His purpose. “And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b, NIV). God let Paul know that He had a larger purpose for his life and it would be fulfilled. That same power is present with the sincere believer today, regardless of circumstances, however dark. “Take courage!” the Lord says. And He is ever present with us to give that courage. Praise be to God!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, May 8, 2010