You’re reading ACTS: LESSONS IN FAITH, by Eric Elder, featuring thirty inspiring devotionals based on the lives of the very first followers of Christ. Also available in paperback and eBook formats in our bookstore for a donation of any size!

Scripture Reading: Acts 14

There are times when all of us face obstacles that seem just too big to get past.  Times when we’re ready to throw in the towel.  Times when we want to give up and to walk away from the things we feel God has called us to do.

If you’re facing times like that today, I want to encourage you to press on, to be persistent in your faith.  Don’t give up now.  Now’s the time to let God work through you in a way that you can shine for Him.

Michael Jordan was an incredible basketball player.  But the crowds didn’t come to watch him walk onto an empty court and shoot free-throws for an hour and a half.  They came to watch him shine in the face of opposition.  They came to watch him take the ball from one end of the court to the other, making his way through opponents who were doing everything they could to stop him.

When someone would try to steal the ball, Michael would dribble behind his back.  When someone blocked his way forward, Michael would spin his way around.  When someone would try to block his shot, Michael would leap into the air beyond their reach, swishing the ball through the net on his way back down.

The times Michael Jordan shone the brightest were the times when his opposition was the most intense.

Paul and Barnabas in the book of Acts remind me of Michael Jordan.  When God sent them out to win the world for Christ, they went from city to city, winning converts all along the way.  But they weren’t shooting free-throws on an empty court.  One of the reasons they shone so bright was because their opposition was so intense.  In city after city, they were spoken against, thrown out of town, and even stoned and left for dead.

In the city of Iconium, many people came to Christ.  But others began to stir up trouble for Paul and Barnabas.  Rather than running away, they pressed on.  The Bible says:

“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders” (Acts 13:4). 

Instead of throwing in the towel, Paul and Barnabas decided to stay even longer.  When the people of Iconium eventually made a plan to kill them, they escaped.  When the people of Lystra stoned them and left them for dead, they recovered and went right back into the city.  When they had finished making their way through city after city, they didn’t just call it quits.  They turned around and went right back through each of the cities where people had tried to kill them before, strengthening the believers they had won in those cities, and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.

When the opposition came, Paul and Barnabas dribbled behind their backs, spun around the opposition, and leapt into the air as they swished the ball through the net on their way back down.

Faith persists.  It doesn’t give up and go home just because an opponent shows up on the court.  That’s the time when faith shines.  That’s the time when the crowds go wild for Christ.  That’s the time when God Himself will cheer you on, sending His Holy Spirit to do things through you that you could never have done on your own.

I don’t know what kind of opposition you’re facing today: problems with your marriage, your money, your ministry, your ideas.  Problems with your health, your plans, your future, your dreams.  Problems with your family, your friends, your parents, your kids.  Problems with your business, your home, your life, your career.

But whatever you’re facing right now, I want to encourage you to press on.  Press on in your faith.  Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter or your faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross (see Hebrews 12:2).

Press on, as Paul did, toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

If God has called you to it, press on through it!

Prayer: Father, help me to be persistent in my faith, to press on to win the prize for which You have called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.