GET UP AND GET BACK

• DAY 334
• FEAR FILE: 
• SCRIPTURES: ACTS 14

“Some Jews came from Antioch in Pisidia and from Iconium; they won the crowds over to their side, stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking that he was dead. But when the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas went to Derbe.”

Acts‬ ‭14‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭GNT

People are fickle and flaky with their loyalty. The only way they stick to any man completely, for long, is by the intervention of the divine. That’s why no man should build their faith or worth on men’s approval. One moment they could call you a god and the next moment they are ready to stone you. This was the case with Paul and Barnabas.

After healing a lame man, who came to their service the Lystrians were convinced that Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes and the priests of these idols brought sacrifices to make to Paul. It took a lot for Paul and Barnabas to stop them from worshipping them. Yet when other Jews showed up, they successfully convinced these same people to stone Paul. When they saw he was on the floor and may be dead, they dragged him out of the city. Picture the horror, the brutality. How could once adoring fans turn to murderers? Alas, such is life.

After they left him for dead outside the city, the believers came for him. They weren’t able to stop the angry mob but they would not leave anyone behind. Their co-laborer was a casualty and they will not leave him helpless. When He lay there alone, he did find the strength to stand up. But when the believers came and gathered around him, he got up. Don’t underestimate the power of community. When they come for you, strength rises in weakness. A good, faith community will cause strength to rise in your spirit, soul, and body and you will find the courage to stand up again.

As powerful as this is, our focus is on what happened after he got up. He went back into the city, left the next morning to Derbe, and returned again after Derbe.

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. -Acts 14:21-23

I’ll tell you a secret, I am not strong enough to return to where I was stoned, at least not yet. Maybe my courage will get there (I do not want to be stoned o) but for now, it is a mystery to me that he returned to the barbaric city. It took courage. His faith in God and devotion to the gospel was more than his fear of being killed. He picked himself up, tended to his wounds, gave the city time to cool off while preaching in other cities where he might likely be stoned and then returned.

Beloved, we might encounter injuries on the journey of purpose while pursuing our dreams or even in the service of God. People we help might act the fool and betray us, we might be cheated, abused, forgotten, and left to wallow. We will need a community to surround us and the strength to pick ourselves up and return to what God has called us to do. Some wounds might need time to heal but those scars are proof of what you overcame.

May the Lord strengthen you, may the Lord encourage you, may the Lord empower you, and may he surround you with believers who will encourage you in these times in the name of Jesus.

Shalom