During a period of my faith walk I was reading certain books of the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter and during this time I spent time in the book of Acts. (As an aside, I strongly encourage every believer to read the Bible like this as it provides a much broader picture of the word of God.) During Paul’s missionary journeys with Barnabas he was persecuted endlessly by a group of Jews that had followed his preaching circuits from Antioch. At the point that I’m referencing, Paul and Barnabas had left Antioch and traveled all the way to Iconium (at least 75 miles away!) to preach the gospel. This persistent group of Jews found him there, stoned him and dragged him out of the city leaving him for dead. But the great and powerful Jehovah through a group of believers in that town gathered around him and Paul arose! What did Paul then do? He went right back to the city! Now I just have to pause here and say, WHOOAA! How often do our past problems and issues track us down like we have a homing beacon on our foreheads and then start to wreak havoc in our lives. When Paul's problem caught up with him it stoned him and left him in a lifeless state. I know I have felt stoned in the figurative sense by the words, accusations and actions of some people. You see that is what the Devil does. His whole plan is to steal, kill and destroy. He goes about like a “roaring lion” seeking whom he may devour. Have you ever watched a National Geographic documentary about lions? Relentlessly, lions will stalk their prey for miles and miles before the kill. In life we all experience that. Our problems will catch up with us and try to beat us down and leave us for dead. But oh the grace of God steps in! How does it happen? Well in our story in Acts the believers rallied around Paul. Now I don’t know exactly what they did. Whether they yelled at Paul and said, “Come on Paul, get up!” Or perhaps they started praying to Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord that heals) to raise him. Whatever the case, they encircled him and eventually he arose, as if from a “dead” state (the literal translation of the Greek). And here is the importance of being a part of a group of believers that are united in the bonds of prayer. A men’s or women’s group affiliation should be an integral part of any believer’s walk with Christ. Why? Because when life’s problems try to overtake you (and sometimes they will!), the faithful support of others can encourage you to fight on, as was the case with Paul. You can’t go at this alone. God did not intend for you to walk alone. He has put us on Earth with others that believe in his power for support and encouragement. So the next time your problems seem to corner you and it seems there is no way out, plug into the network of prayers of the righteous to arise out of your problem.
Lord, at times my problems seem to overwhelm me. I feel so defeated that I almost lose the will to fight on. Teach me to plug into the power you provide through the support of your faithful followers to give me the strength to arise from my problems victorious. Amen
Suggested readings: Acts 14:1-28; James 5:16