Acts 21:17-22:21 | Staying True to Christಮಾದರಿ

Strength to Stand

Paul’s response after being snatched by the Romans from an angry mob? Please let me go back and talk to them.

We’ve seen this with Paul before. In Ephesus, when the city was in an uproar, he wanted to go before the angry mob to talk to them. When he was dragged outside the city and stoned by the angry mob in Acts 14, he returned a day later.

Crazy or courageous? It probably depends on your point of view. But make no mistake. Staying true to Christ takes courage.

Courage to stay true doesn’t just come from ourselves—it flows from God’s Spirit.

When Zechariah spoke to the Judean governor, Zerubbabel, encouraging him to rebuild the temple despite resistance and against all odds, he famously said, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zech 4:6, NIV).

When God sent the prophet, Ezekiel, to speak to hard-hearted Israel in Exile, God told him, “I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people” (Ezek 3:8-10, NIV).

When God sent Joshua to lead rebellious Israel into the Promised Land after the death of Moses, God said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Josh 1:9, NIV).

The US Army had a recruitment motto: “Courage is putting your fear aside and doing the job.” Faith is doing the same and trusting in God. And God will give you strength to stand.

Near the end of his ministry, Paul wrote to Timothy, his traveling companion through Acts, who was now leading the church in Ephesus, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God” (2 Tim 1:7-8, NIV84). Paul lived it because God gives it. God promises that same spirit to you.

And so Paul goes before the mob and speaks. Today, read what he said. Pay attention to the tone. True to Christ. True to what Christ did in his life. Unashamed. Willing to stand.

Questions

When do you operate more from fear than faith? Where do you need courage from the Holy Spirit this week?