Acts 18:9-11 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. Did the Apostle Paul ever fight fear? We see him parading across the pages of Acts, boldly proclaiming Christ in every situation, undeterred by threats or persecution. He is the one we find singing praises at midnight in a Philippian dungeon with his back beaten, raw, and bleeding. At Lystra, Paul was stoned and left for dead outside the city gates, yet rose up and the next day went to Derbe to preach some more. Paul was the greatest ambassador of the gospel the church has ever known, and the greatest example outside of Christ of how we should live. On top of all that, Paul wrote 2/3 of our New Testament! He seems almost super human in his exploits. Did he ever get discouraged? Was he ever fearful? In the New Testament we do not get very much personal information about Paul, but from time to time we catch a glimpse of his humanity, such as in the scripture above. This great Apostle must have been fighting some fear and doubt. In his feebleness, God reassures Paul that He is with him, that God had many people to support him, and that Paul would not be attacked while in the city. How comforting this must have been. How this must have embolden Paul! What a kind, gracious, loving gesture on God’s part. In all this we see the great Apostle, as human as we are, struggling in weakness; needing a Word from the Lord . That makes what God does through him all the more astounding. We too are prone to fear and discouragement. We too have feet of clay. We too are but earthen vessels. However, we hold within us the very treasure of Christ, just as Paul did. God declares that He will take the weak things of this world (us) and do mighty things! (1 Cor 1:27) Paul was used greatly of God, not because he felt no pain and had no fears, but because he obeyed in spite of them. Nothing stopped his relentless march forward with God. We are to do the same. Like Paul, when fear grips the soul, God’s promise to us is that He is with us, we have others who support us, and ultimately the enemy will not prevail! Therefore keep speaking! Keep giving! Keep serving! Keep loving! Keep obeying! Keep doing what God has called you to do! “Don’t be afraid, keep on….”
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 13:28:14 +0000
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