Get Up After Suffering and Move on

[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.” – Acts 14:19-20 (NIV)

Back in the early church days, the believers in Christ faced so much persecution. Some were killed, burnt alive, stoned to death, and all that. Although in recent times, these things aren’t so common to see, persecution is still on the rise. Today, I want us to consider one bad thing Paul faced on his mission trip to Lystra.

On his mission trip, Paul (assisted by Barnabas), by the empowerment of the Spirit, preached the gospel powerfully. As he was preaching, one lame man in the congregation had the faith to be healed. So, Paul gave him a spiritual command to stand and walk. Guess what? The man stood up and walked instantly. That miracle stirred up the crowd. They were hailing Paul and Barnabas as if they were their ancient ‘gods’. But that wasn’t true.

Paul and Barnabas managed to calm the crowd and spoke God’s Word to them. But moments later, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came and won the crowd over. I don’t know what they said to the crowd that got their attention off Paul and Barnabas, but such is how the devil works. If, as a minister, you don’t take care of the things that distract people from hearing you, you might end up with people sitting in front of you but not listening to you. Because of this, the Jews, with the crowd, stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city. Someone who had just healed a person got stoned so much that the people thought he was dead. What a tragedy!

But the Bible says that after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back to the city. He didn’t preach there again but left with Barnabas for Derbe. As to how Paul survived that, I can’t explain because I don’t know how. God really helped him. Today, if you have faced persecution for spreading the gospel, I want to encourage you to get up and move on. Life won’t always be rosy for you as a Christian. But remember that God is with you. Above all, take good care of yourself.

You are a blessing.