Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Acts 17:16-17 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ...
ALONE
Paul was alone. He had been smuggled out of Thessalonica, sent out of Berea for his own protection, and left alone in Athens. It is not hard to imagine that Paul might have been feeling low at a time like that, is it?
Times of discouragement certainly come to all of us. Even in our health and strength we may face times when we wonder... So how did the Lord give Paul strength to continue in faraway Athens, all alone? He was spurred on to continue serving his Savior when he looked around. He saw a center of culture for the world and a city full of idols! (Idolatry and superstition do not come from intellectual ignorance, but from spiritual ignorance.)
Paul saw people moving ever closer to meeting their Maker, but not knowing where they were going. The greatest need of these people was also his greatest need, and it was supplied by Jesus Christ and the resurrection from the dead. This is also what he began discussing every chance he got.
So it was not confidence in himself or his track record that kept him going, but confidence that Jesus Christ-- who on the cross paid what we owed to God-- would also supply ALL his needs. It was not that Paul was so great, but that Jesus Christ was so great! This was the knowledge that kept him going, and in this he was no different from you or me.
