The Lord Stood By Him

Scripture:

9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 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.

11The 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.”

Observation:

Yet again, the Jews are all stirred up because Paul is preaching the Gospel.  He’s been dragged before the leaders in hopes of them doing their dirty work and killing him (again).  In earnest about it, there are about forty of them in this chapter who’ve taken a vow to neither eat nor drink until they’ve completed the job.

Paul knows where their hot buttons are though and he sets them on each other, infighting so severely that the commander of the army was afraid they’d literally tear him to pieces and has Paul forcibly taken away and put under protective custody.

That night, The Lord stands near Paul and tells him “Take courage!  As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” 

Wow.  I would be all like “Jesus has my back!  He’s come to rescue me!  He’s come to get me out of this prison and maybe send some angels to take care of my wounds.  I knew he wouldn’t leave me here like this!”  Wouldn’t you?  Don’t we?  We pray for comfort, for healing, for freedom from our chains… we want Jesus to come and stand beside us and have our back, don’t we?

And He does.  But he doesn’t.  Instead of seeing to his bruises and picking the locks, the scripture in our verse selection today says that he “Stood with him” and he told him to buck up and do it all over again in Rome!  “You’re doing just what I want you to do, keep on doing it!  Don’t give in to fear.” 

Application:

Can you see why I am not an apostle?  My reactions are all wrong.  My human nature seeks comfort, health and wealth. 

I wonder how much more brave I’d be though if I disciplined my spirit better.  I wonder if through study, prayer, fasting, and practicing the fruits of the Spirit if I would be so convicted of my sin, and so motivated to reveal truth to others, that I’d be bold like Paul. 

I don’t know for sure, but I wonder if Paul was going through a crisis of faith in those moments.  I wonder if he was scared and weary in spirit and wounded in body so much that the enemy was tempting him to do whatever it took to make them stop.  And right there in his moment of need, Jesus stood beside him and gave him encouragement.  I wonder if the fear of what might happen had him doubting himself so much that Jesus, made a special appearance for him much like the angels ministered to Jesus in the Garden before he was turned over.

So what does this mean for you and me?  Well, you likely aren’t causing riots – and people aren’t making vows to kill you – but we all have the power to stand beside those in crisis and encourage them don’t we?  We all could stand to practice the spiritual disciplines that make us strong to fight temptations, right? 

Here’s what I know:  Jesus has our backs.  He has a purpose for us.  The witnessing of his name to a dark world is dangerous stuff and will cost us, but he doesn’t leave us alone in the darkness.  Sometimes he gives us a peek into what the plans are, and sometimes he doesn’t – but he always stands beside us. 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for those who read this who are going through a crisis.  I pray you provide someone to stand with them for comfort and encouragement.  I pray that you convict your children of sin and teach them to discipline their spirits so that they can be fit to do your work.  Amen.