10 As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress. 11 That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”- Acts 23:10-11
Success in the worldly sense means peace with many people, security in the things you have worked hard for, loved ones that surround you and freedom to be whoever and whatever you want to be. But in the Spiritual sense, success means pleasing GOD. Pleasing GOD is not equivalent with how the world views success. In the book of Acts, we read about Paul and the many troubles he had to go through, experiencing riots and facing conflicts between him and his jewish people or the gentiles, the trials he had to face on court, the prison cells he went in and out, and the many more overwhelming things a single person can go through in life. Wordly people viewed him as a trouble maker, it's easy to understand if people thought he was the biggest failure on earth. But every time his life was at risk or when he is in trouble, GOD was faithful to preserve his life. His life was not taken from him because GOD was protecting him, guiding his every step.
Certainly, any man would be sapped out of strength and lose courage but GODs provision for strength and courage will never fail. At the midst of a great trial Paul was about to face and just after a conflict that he had to deal with, GOD appears to Paul at night encouraging him that he is doing the right thing, and that he should continue to do so, being a witness to JESUS in Jerusalem and even outside of Jerusalem. Even in chaos, any follower of JESUS can feel secure and peaceful, because our courage comes not from what is outside of us, it's not dependent on the circumstances that going on around us. A follower's courage and strength comes the LORD who lives within them. Focusing on JESUS, pleasing our LORD is how we will be able to overcome such troubles and persecution in our lives. Whatever problems that may come our way, we have not experienced the worse as Paul did and if Paul was able to sing and lift his praise to the LORD inside the prison cell, then we can be confident that the GOD who is holding up Paul during the darkest hour of the night, is the same GOD who is holding us up today and will raise us up to Himself on the very last day. Holing on to GOD in faith will lead us to victory, this is how we will overcome.
