Bright Truths for Bleak Times

From God’s Word, the Bible

But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

Acts 23:11-12

This is an excerpt from Bright Truths for Bleak Times, one of the devotions in My Coffee Cup Meditations Book 7, Sure Signs of Heavenly Hope.

It was a bleak time for Paul. Roman soldiers had taken him into custody to prevent his fellow-Jews from killing him. But that didn’t put an end to it. Forty of the Jews took an oath they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul (v.14). They went to their religious leaders with a plan, and those men, who professed to be great believers in God’s law, put their stamp of approval on it.

Was this a difficult time for Paul? I would say so. But there is more here than the description of hard circumstances. Interwoven into this account are four bright, encouraging truths.

First, we see that no place is too hard for the Lord to find.

After arresting Paul, the Romans put him “into the barracks” (v. 10). Paul may have been alone there, hidden from human view. Ah, but, he wasn’t hidden from the Lord’s view because we read: “the Lord stood by him” (v. 11). The religious leaders in the temple and the Roman commander in the palace were surrounded by comfort while Paul was in prison surrounded by the Lord. I’d say Paul had the better of it. It’s better to be in a prison with Christ than to be in a palace without Him.

Do you feel as if you are hidden away in harsh circumstances? The same Lord who knew where to find Paul knows where to find you. He is with His people in every difficulty and every trial. When the Jews were captives in Babylon, they thought their situation was hidden from the Lord, but it wasn’t (Isa. 40:27). And neither is ours.

To read the whole devotion, make sure you purchase or borrow a copy of Sure Signs of Heavenly Hope! Available from Amazon!