For years, this has been my definition of courage: Courage is doing right even when you are afraid.
With that definition, Paul and Silas were men of exemplary courage. They carried the gospel to Europe in the midst of almost every kind of persecution.
Acts 16 and 17 describes the first missionary thrust into the continent of Europe. Paul and Silas must have been excited; they also must have been afraid. They determined to do right even when they were afraid.
Here’s what they encountered when they preached the gospel.
In Philippi, they faced opposition from pagan men marketing a young slave girl with supposed ability to predict the future. When Paul cast out the spirit empowering the girl, her masters falsely accused Paul and Silas. Then, the Roman authorities beat the missionaries unmercifully and cast them into prison.
Once they were freed from prison at God’s hand, they traveled onward to Thessalonica where they encountered Jewish persecution. This time they escaped beatings and jail, but they were forced to move on with the gospel.
Notice how God used all of this.
God used the beatings and prison at Philippi to show His power to pagan soldiers as well as the Jews of Philippi. At midnight as Paul and Silas sang and prayed, an earthquake opened the doors of the prison and the chains of the prisoners. The result was the salvation of the jailer whom God used to bless the church and its mission.
God used the riot in Thessalonica to send the missionaries to even more fertile fields where the people of Berea examined the Scripture and believed the gospel. Later Paul went to Corinth and Athens with the message of Christ. The strategic location of these cities, particularly Corinth, helped propel the gospel to even wider circles.
No wonder Paul taught that God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
God wants to use us in similar ways. We, too, must be willing to do right even when we are afraid. When faced with hardship, we must continue on in doing good. God blesses those who live obediently and seek to follow Him.
We can do these things because of God’s Spirit within us. May we be found faithful.
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3 Responses
Yes indeed! Romans 8:28 works when one choses God despite ones circumstance. In the rear view mirror it is evident; if one looks hard enough to find Kingdom changes. But going it alone is not the plan.
From Proverbs 25: 21 & 22 – If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. (plant a foot hold, sow seeds for the Lord, share/give a bit of ‘different way, His way.’
Proverbs: 20:22 – Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
Difficult times in prayer are found in Psalms 94:1 – O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself. (3)- Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
From Moses’ Song Deuteronomy 32: 32-36 – For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belongeth vengeance and; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
Thanks be to God to have Paul boil all this down to practical living for the Bride of Christ in Romans 12: 16 – 21 – Be of the same mind one toward another, Mind not high things, but condescend to me of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceable with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.
All dependent on God. All dependent on the Bride of Christ. All dependent on us as individuals. An individual is not made to do it alone, from the beginning. Thus: Romans 12: 1-6, 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27! 1 Corinthians 12:31!!!
Turn the world upside down, take the city by storm! Keep up His Work and to Him be the Glory Forever. Lead on! AMEN.
Blessings.
Even though theses are not the places we visited, our trip to Israel has made the word pictures in my head so vivid when I read your blogs and my Bible. Thanks for using these passages to speak to me in ways they didn’t before.
Isn’t it amazing how the trip opens up our minds and hearts to God’s truth?