But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome."
Acts 23:11
Acts 23:11
After every dark night comes the light of day...
Paul had just been through a long day. He'd been arrested, beaten, and thrown into a dungeon. Like most of us in that situation would, I think Paul must have been wondering if he was really doing what the Lord had called him to do. Unsure of what was ahead of him, Paul got an unexpected visit that would change his outlook on what was to come.
And if we take notice of four important things in this verse, it can change our outlook as well.
#1. The Lord stood by him.
The Lord was not in front of Paul, pulling him, or behind Paul, pushing him. He was beside him. Step by step, walking with him.
#2. The Lord encouraged him.
"Be of good cheer."
In the Greek, the phrase means, "Exercise courage." Like a lot of us, Paul needed to be reminded to push through his fear. Just like with physical exercise, there comes a time when you want to give up, when your body says, "No more." It's at that point when we have to refuse to give in to our flesh and work through the pain, the fatigue and the discomfort if we want to reach our goals. It's the same way when it comes to fear. We have to face it, walk through it, take it on. And knowing the truth of 1 John 4:18b, we can -- "But perfect love drives out fear."
#3. The Lord called him by name.
Here, Jesus calls Paul by His name. I like that. He knows our name. He knows everything about me, from the hairs on my head to the tears from my eye. He even knows, as the Psalms say, that I am but dust.
#4. The Lord reminded him of what was true.
"...you have testified"
"...you have testified"
In Acts 1:8, Jesus said we would be His witnesses. Despite how we may feel about our witness, the reality is that God is going to use it for His glory. Here, I think Paul may have been thinking that he had blown the chance to really be a witness and to show the love of Christ. Yet in the Lord's eyes, he had done a great job.
My hope for you today is that you will be reminded that He will use whatever we are willing to give, no matter how great or how small.
Great Encouragement Pastor Robbie! We all have "fears" that we need to push through with God's strength and Him beside us. We may not call it "fear"---we may say we are "stressed", or "anxious" but it is fear and "He has not given us a spirit of fear, but Peace, Love and Discipline---Praise the Lord!
ReplyDeleteJohn Petersen
"...you have testified"
ReplyDeleteDoes it still count if the one you are testifying to calls you a hippocrate. I pray that my witnessing to this person will be used for Gods glory. At times, like now, I feel discouraged, just like Paul might have felt. But now being reminded that God is along side of me and encouraging me gives me that boost to not be discouraged but encouraged. Thank you for the reminder Pastor Robbie, I really really needed that!