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The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 23:11,
“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.’”
Here the Lord brings encouragement to Paul. Paul had been warned repeatedly that hardships would face him when he got to Jerusalem. He had told the Ephesian elders on his way to Jerusalem, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” Acts 20:22-23. After arriving in Jerusalem and being falsely accused, “the whole city was aroused” and they tried to kill him. He was arrested, eventually brought before the Sanhedrin where a violent dispute broke out over him and the Roman commander had to have Paul brought into the barracks for fear he would be “torn to pieces by them”. The following day the Jews formed a conspiracy to kill Paul and took an oath not to eat or drink anything until they carried out their plans.
And it is just here I want to make a small observation that says so much about the heart of our wonderful Lord. Paul is a seasoned man and used to abuse, hardship and maltreatment for the cause of the gospel. In the midst of what Paul is experiencing at this time, here comes our Lord to Paul’s side, and in a comforting way tells him to take courage. Our Lord still has some things for Paul to do and he encourages him in the midst of all he is facing.
To me, this expresses in a wonderful way how our Lord extends his kindness, love and compassion for us. He comes to us in our greatest times of need. Sometimes it may be a set of circumstances that come together that have his fingerprints all over them, or it may be a brother or sister he brings alongside of us to encourage us. In this instance it is the Lord himself who comes alongside Paul to encourage, and I’m sure, bring comfort to Paul.
Our Lord truly has a wonderful heart!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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