Monday, May 18

Monday

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 23:11

Literally, what the Lord Jesus says as he appears to Paul here is, “Be of good cheer. Cheer up, Paul.”  That is certainly a revelation of the state of Paul's heart at this time. He is anything but of good cheer. He is defeated and discouraged, but he is not abandoned. Isn't it wonderful that the Lord comes now to restore him to his ministry?

I am sure that Luke does not give us the full account of what transpired between Paul and his Lord on that night. But there is enough here that we can see what Jesus is after. He encourages Paul with His presence and He restores Paul to usefulness. He promises Paul success in the desire of his heart, which was second only to his desire to win his kinsmen, i.e., that he might bear witness for Christ at the heart of the empire, the capital of the Gentile world itself.  You remember that Paul had announced that, after he went to Jerusalem, he must go to Rome.  And his prayer as he wrote to the Roman Christians was that he might be allowed to come to them.  The Lord Jesus now gives that back to him!

And yet the very form of the Lord’s encouragement contains a hint of what is to come, of how he will serve the Lord in Rome.  Jesus puts it this way:  “As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.” In other words, the emphasis here is upon the manner in which this witness will take place. “In the way that you bore witness to me in Jerusalem, in that same way you must bear witness in Rome.” And how had he testified in Jerusalem? It was as a prisoner — chained, bound, limited.

This encounter with the Lord Jesus must have been a wonderful moment in Paul's experience. The Lord restored him to spiritual health, just as he often does with us. Have you ever been in this circumstance? Have you ever felt like the circumstances of your life were not working out the way you imagined?  Have you ever wondered where God was in the midst of your frustration and disappointment?  How amazing to have the Jesus come to restore us.

After this Paul seems to be his usual self again. From here on the things he says and does have that same wonderful infusion of the Spirit's power which makes unusual things happen. And from Rome he is to write some of his greatest letters — letters filled with power, which are still changing the history of the world.

Father, thank you for your restoring love, for the fact that you have never abandoned me, that you are near to me, especially when I am discouraged, and that you keep me and bring me back to you - Amen.

Jeff Frazier