Scripture Daily

Context No. 3739 of 4322 · Acts

Context · Reflection

Acts 23:11-15: in context

11The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.” 12When it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 13There were more than forty people who had made this conspiracy. 14They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15Now therefore, you with the council inform the commanding officer that he should bring him down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to judge his case more exactly. We are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

The night after a dangerous confrontation, the Lord stands by Paul and speaks words of comfort and commission: take courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome. God assures Paul that his mission is not over; he will reach Rome.

And this assurance comes just before a deadly threat: more than forty men bind themselves under an oath to kill Paul. But here is the point. God had already declared that Paul would go to Rome. The plot of forty determined men could not overturn what God had purposed. There is deep comfort in the timing. God gives Paul his promise before the danger even appears, so that when the threat comes, Paul, and we, can rest in the assurance that God's purpose will stand. No conspiracy, however determined, can thwart what God has said he will do. When God has given us his word about our path, we can face threats knowing that his purpose, not our enemies' plots, will finally prevail.

When I face threats or obstacles, do I rest in God's declared purposes, trusting that no plot or opposition can overturn what he has said he will do?

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