Be of Good Cheer
“The following night the Lord
stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for
as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome'”
(Acts 23:11)
We’ve been following the military career of Daniel
Douglass, with great interest. In a few years he advanced to the rank of
Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He did well, but then suddenly, everything
became even better. After a brief time out of service, he was approved for
Officer’s Candidate School. Completing OCS training with honors, he became an
officer, a 2nd Lieutenant, and then finished “The Basic School” with honors as
well. Then came even more schooling, for he is to be a pilot. He has been
assigned to the C-130J program, and in addition to hands-on flying, he recently
was given an orientation tour of a C-130J. And he’s now been promoted to 1st
Lieutenant.
Here’s how he described the huge C-130J Hercules: What
we speak of as the “cockpit” is actually the “Flight Deck.” In front of the
pilot, a glass like a window drops down, which is called the “Heads-Up Display.”
The pilot can see right through the display to operate the controls, which are
similar to those in other planes. But there is also a projector above his head
that sends vital information onto the Heads-Up display. Computerized lines are
on the glass, showing the heading and other information, pointing to their
destination. Every time the direction of that plane is changed because of the
weather or for whatever reason, the lines that lead to their destination are
modified on the Heads-Up display. Changes are always shown in relation to where
you are going.
Something very much like that is happening in the life
of every Christian. We’re not “flying blind” – we have the Holy Spirit of God,
who is our “Heads-Up Display” and much more. He knows our Destination and He
will show us the way. Not all can see the “Heads-Up” information that is
available, but through what are called the “gifts of the Spirit,” each one is
given critical data needed by the “in-flight crew” we call the “church.” Our
ultimate destination, of course, is “heaven,” and even though difficulties in
life may change our course for awhile, the destination is the same, and God has
the fuel to get us there.
In today’s Scripture, we find the Lord speaking words of
encouragement to Paul the Apostle. For a long time, Paul’s focus had been on the
city called Jerusalem. He knew that great trouble awaited him there. As he put
it, “I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing
the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies
in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me” (Acts
20:22-23). He continued in that direction even though he knew trouble awaited
him, because it was his mission. And so should WE not only regard the cost, but
as the Spirit leads, we must go!
Paul met more disciples of the Lord, and “they
told Paul… NOT to go up to Jerusalem” (Acts
21:4). And then still another group pleaded with him: Don't go there! (Acts
21:12). But he went, saying: “I am ready not only to be
bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts
21:13). And finally they stopped trying to persuade him, sighing, “The
will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14). And so he went, and he did find
the beatings, chains and tribulations that had been promised.
Now “there was a great silence”
on the part of his listeners, as Paul, in Jerusalem, spoke in a loud, clear
voice to his beloved people, the Jews. He gave them what was essentially his
testimony, the story of his life. It included a sketch of his boyhood, his
education under the great teacher, Gamaliel, and then his actions as a young
man, a Pharisee. He had received written authorization from the High Priest of
the Jews, and then vigorously attacked the followers of Jesus, “to
the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts
22:4). He had been what might be called a “good soldier” of his religion,
carrying out his orders more than all his contemporaries.
But then, as he was on his way to Damascus, to harass
still more people, the Lord Jesus personally appeared to him and changed his
life, not unlike the way the U.S. Marine Corps changed a young man into Lt.
Daniel Douglass. You should know, by the way, that Daniel is a Marine because
God has called him to be one. Paul, who was also called, was given a “Heads-Up
display,” initially pointing him to Damascus, but also to a whole new way of
life. He went there, blinded and changed, but then he was given new sight, new
vision. Now he was sharing the Lord’s Words, who had said to Paul: “I
will send you far from here to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21). The “Heads-Up
display” of the Holy Spirit had given him many interim destinations, and now at
last he was in Jerusalem, telling those he loved, about his mission for the
Lord, hoping to win Jews as well as Gentiles for Christ.
Paul hoped that his people, the Jews, would understand
that the Lord God was the One who had sent him, and that many would come to
Christ as a result. But they did not. Instead it was shouted, “Away
with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live”
(Acts 22:22), and Paul barely escaped with his life after a beating. He was saved
by the Lord through Roman soldiers, Gentiles, who literally carried him to
safety.
At the moment of today’s verse, Paul was depressed,
thinking about the words he had spoken, and he wondered if he could have said it
a little differently. “What would have happened if I didn’t mention the
Gentiles?” he thought. Have you ever felt you followed the Lord, only to doubt
yourself later; concerned about the result? Paul pondered the circumstances that
were fresh in his mind. A day passed. He had now spoken to the Jews a second
time, and even though the argument was turned on themselves, it seemed like no
victory to Paul, for apparently none of them had received the Lord.
It was on “the following night the
Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer,
Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear
witness at Rome’” (Acts 23:11). The Lord was there for Paul, just as He
is there for you. Much like orders are issued to pilots around the world, with
information given for a variety of destinations, a “Heads-Up display” was issued
to Paul: he was to be taken to the capital, the center of the large and
well-defended Roman Empire! He would go to Rome! Where are YOU going today? In
the worst or best of circumstances, just like He does for Lt. Daniel Douglass,
who followed the Lord into the Marine Corps, and just like He led the Apostle
Paul, God has a destination for you. Will you follow Him?
Lord, I give myself to You. Thank You for Your grace
during those times I did not follow. Forgive me. And Lord, right now, show me
the way I must go. In Jesus Name. Amen.
