Wednesday Words of Encouragement

I'm currently reading through the book of Acts and in fact, finished up the last chapter this morning. The thing that struck me as I read of the story of Paul is that his perspective was always one where his goal was to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

He was flogged, imprisoned, threatened and mistreated and yet, he didn't give up. He kept right on preaching. No matter what happened to him, he kept his mission in mind. Even when he was shipwrecked and had to swim for his life to shore, he seemed to have little thought for himself, but for those around him.

As I reflected on Paul's life this morning, I was also reminded that the things God allows in our lives should be instruments we can use to share His Good News with others. When I'm going through a hard time, do I talk about God's faithfulness? When I'm struggling do I continue to tell others about how the Lord is working through the struggle? Do I remain faithful even when I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were in prison and the text tells us that they were singing hymns of praise to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Amazing! They weren't in a modern day prison with beds and all the amenities that come with it. They were in a cold, dank dungeon and in chains. And yet they were praising God and as a result, God drew people to Himself.

Dan and I had a good talk with a friend last night who is in a hospital bed. And we all came to the conclusion that we don't know why God allows certain things in our life. Sometimes, the hard times are just part of living in a fallen world. Bad things will happen to everyone of us at some point in our lives. But the questions is, what is our response to those things? Will we praise God and draw others to Him, or will we curse and whine and carry on? And if we do the latter, the reality is no one will come to know Christ and we ourselves will never grow and will drift further away from Him.

It's been a challenging read, but a good one and a reminder that I want to remain faithful no matter what my circumstances. How about you?

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