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Oct 07, 2024 06:00am

Facing the Storm

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My friend shared this post this morning. Can you believe it’s been 19 years since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast?

I was working for the TV station, and the influx of refugees began pouring into Jonesboro. People were looking for help and a place to lay their heads. I was overwhelmed with the situation when I interviewed people at a local hotel. How awful it must feel to not know if your loved ones are safe, if you’ll have a home to return to, the loss of all of your belongings, or how to even begin to pick up the pieces and rebuild.

I thought to myself, I would never live there.

Sure, it’s beautiful, but the risk of losing it all was too great. I would rather be safe closer inland.

But not people like my friend.

This was her home. This is where she belonged. She knew the risks, she knew it could be life-threatening, and she still chose to go back.

The rewards far outweighed the risks.

Acts 14:8-20

“In Lystra, there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.

9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed

10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.

13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:

15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way.

17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

19 Then, some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day, he and Barnabas left for Derbe.”

The people of this city worshipped false gods. When this miracle happened, they instinctively attributed it to Zeus and Hermes. But Paul and Barnabas were quick to correct them.

This was the very reason they had come to the city. To help these people understand the truth. They told of the one and only true God, their creator. And they pointed out how gracious God was that even though these people sacrificed to false gods, God Himself was kind to them by still sending rain and growth in their crops, providing what they needed. And these very things were evidence to these people that He was God and Him alone.

But it was hard to contain the crowd. This is what they knew. This is the life they had always known. To make matters worse, the Jews who despised the teachings of Jesus, enemies of Paul and Barnabas, came from Antioch and Iconium to see these two men destroyed.

The crowd stoned Paul.

He was left for dead.

But that wasn’t the end.

The disciples came to Paul and encouraged him, helping him up.

He dusted off his clothes and turned back to the city.

And you know what he did?

He went back.

Why?! They had just tried to kill him! He needed to flee… didn’t he?

But Paul was there for a purpose. He knew these people needed the gospel. Lost people do lost things. And he was going to share the truth with them abo it Christ, no matter the cost.

Because he knew the rewards of even one person coming to Jesus far outweighed the risks.

Friends, do we realize that? Are we, like Paul, ready to return knowing the risks involved? Or are we more like those of us who would rather play it safe inland, not stepping out of our comfort zone?

There are people out there who are dying and going to Hell every day because we, as followers of Christ, are not willing to share the truth with them.

Let’s change that.

No matter the cost, Christ is worthy to be praised. Share Him. Tell the story of Jesus.

I’d love to help you do that. Go to follow.lifeword.org and learn how.