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Go ahead and look first at Acts 23 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.

Key Verse(s): Acts 23:11

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

Title: God’s Plan From the Middle

Observation: Paul goes through many dangerous situations in this chapter. There is a mob of people who want to hurt him. Then there is a group who take an oath to kill Paul. He has been arrested and is now being taken to a military camp of the Romans. None of these things seem particularly promising.

Yet Paul is encouraged by God Himself. He tells Paul that he is right where he is supposed to be and on track and on mission. This is what we need. But if you just took this chapter in isolation it might seem that God had abandoned Paul. Instead, seen from a distance we can see all these things were used to God for the mission that He had put Paul on.

Application: I need to have a bigger perspective. I need to be willing to trust God in the midst of circumstances that don’t make a lot of sense. I need to encourage those in the middle parts, that they might see what God is doing in the midst of the storm.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to have a sense of what you are doing, when my feelings get hurt, when I don’t understand the situation, when I can’t see you in the circumstances, to trust you and to love you. You are faithful. Thank you God.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.