SCRIPTURE: Acts 23:6-11
“Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)
I’m not sure that I find this message very encouraging.
Better if God had said, “Take courage, I am with you!”
Or “Take courage, I will get you out of this!”
If testifying in Jerusalem led to hardship, his testimony in Rome would lead to his death.
Yet for Paul, whose eager purpose was to testify to God’s grace to the Gentiles, this was encouragement.
I can hear Paul saying ‘Yes, I get to go to Rome!’
Paul was not thinking about what might happen to him, but about the opportunity to talk about Jesus.
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24)
Am I as eager to testify to God’s grace in my life, or am I more concerned about how people might respond?
Is my struggle with preaching, and my reluctance to speak, in part because I am not eager?
And is it God’s grace that I am testifying to, or just sermons or canned testimonies?
I was invited to speak at my first church this month, was I saying ‘Yes, I get to testify to God’s grace!’
Take courage, God will set you up for opportunities to share His grace in your life.
But this will only be encouraging, if this is what you really desire.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, who will I get to share Your grace in my life with today? When I speak to others, is it primarily about Your grace? These are good questions for me to ponder.