The following is a partial list from 2 Corinthians chapter 11, of some of the trials the Apostle Paul faced:
1) Received thirty-nine lashes (five different times)
2) Beaten with rods (three times)
3) Stoned
4) Faced dangers from these perils: flooded rivers, robbers, the Jews, the Gentiles
5) Went without food and without enough clothes to stay warm
6) Shipwrecked (three times)
Makes me feel a little ashamed about moaning over a canker sore.
Today's thoughts come from the experiences Paul had immediately following one of his three shipwrecks.
"Once safely on shore, we [Luke, Paul, and companions] found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, 'This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.' But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god." Acts 28:1-6. Notice these phrases in particular: "...This man must be a murderer...the people expected...after waiting...they changed their minds and said he was a god."
Don't let people define you, or their expectations destroy you! They can go from condemning you today, to worshiping you tomorrow. Actually, their opinion can sway in a shorter amount of time than that, as this story proves. Jesus didn't allow Himself to get carried away by the flattery of people. "Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for He knew what was in man." John 2:23-25. One version says, "No one needed to tell Him about human nature." He knew some of the ones worshipping Him today, would be condemning Him tomorrow.
Don't let people's expectations destroy you! Notice in the passage above, "the people expected...But Paul shook off...and suffered no ill effects." I know that God's supernatural healing power was involved here, but we can follow Paul's example in principle. We can shatter negative predeterminations. We can shake off situations/circumstances that others expect to be a deathblow. We don't have to accept the venom of that old serpent, the devil, every time he flashes his fangs.
It is hard not to let people's opinions and expectations define us, but the truth is, we don't even have to be defined by hard, cold facts, when we are children of God. Judges 6 relays the story of a man who tried to get away with using facts as a crutch, but God wouldn't allow it. "Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years. The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds...Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Oprah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites...The Lord looked at him and said, 'Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?' He said to him, 'Oh Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house.'" Gideon used facts and defined himself as the least and the youngest, but how did God define him? "The angel of the Lord...said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior." The King James version says, "Mighty man of valour." The New Living says, "Mighty hero."
If you believe God created you out of mere dust to begin with, can He not shape those particles of dust into whatever He pleases? Don't put limits on what God can do with you and through you. We have read how some defined Paul, but how did he define himself? He recorded his feelings in 1 Timothy 1:15. "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners----of whom I am the worst." Paul defined himself as the worst sinner. You can't get lower than that, yet, he redefined himself in connection with His Savior. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. Paul must have read the story of Gideon. Gideon expressed his inability, "But the Lord said to him, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.'" The key to Paul's victory and the key to Gideon's victory was not how other people defined them, nor was it the facts. The key was God's presence in them. If God can make a donkey talk and rocks cry out for His purposes, He can surely use a person. In fact, the less we have going for us, from the world's point of view, perhaps the greater potential we have for giving God glory. Once, Peter and John had to stand before the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law, in addition to the high priest and some members of his family for preaching about Jesus. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Paul encourages the Corinthians to be mindful of their circumstances. "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh,not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, 'LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.'" Go forth and be victorious, in the name of the Lord!
1) Received thirty-nine lashes (five different times)
2) Beaten with rods (three times)
3) Stoned
4) Faced dangers from these perils: flooded rivers, robbers, the Jews, the Gentiles
5) Went without food and without enough clothes to stay warm
6) Shipwrecked (three times)
Makes me feel a little ashamed about moaning over a canker sore.
Today's thoughts come from the experiences Paul had immediately following one of his three shipwrecks.
"Once safely on shore, we [Luke, Paul, and companions] found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, 'This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.' But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god." Acts 28:1-6. Notice these phrases in particular: "...This man must be a murderer...the people expected...after waiting...they changed their minds and said he was a god."
Don't let people define you, or their expectations destroy you! They can go from condemning you today, to worshiping you tomorrow. Actually, their opinion can sway in a shorter amount of time than that, as this story proves. Jesus didn't allow Himself to get carried away by the flattery of people. "Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for He knew what was in man." John 2:23-25. One version says, "No one needed to tell Him about human nature." He knew some of the ones worshipping Him today, would be condemning Him tomorrow.
Don't let people's expectations destroy you! Notice in the passage above, "the people expected...But Paul shook off...and suffered no ill effects." I know that God's supernatural healing power was involved here, but we can follow Paul's example in principle. We can shatter negative predeterminations. We can shake off situations/circumstances that others expect to be a deathblow. We don't have to accept the venom of that old serpent, the devil, every time he flashes his fangs.
It is hard not to let people's opinions and expectations define us, but the truth is, we don't even have to be defined by hard, cold facts, when we are children of God. Judges 6 relays the story of a man who tried to get away with using facts as a crutch, but God wouldn't allow it. "Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years. The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds...Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Oprah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites...The Lord looked at him and said, 'Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?' He said to him, 'Oh Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house.'" Gideon used facts and defined himself as the least and the youngest, but how did God define him? "The angel of the Lord...said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior." The King James version says, "Mighty man of valour." The New Living says, "Mighty hero."
If you believe God created you out of mere dust to begin with, can He not shape those particles of dust into whatever He pleases? Don't put limits on what God can do with you and through you. We have read how some defined Paul, but how did he define himself? He recorded his feelings in 1 Timothy 1:15. "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners----of whom I am the worst." Paul defined himself as the worst sinner. You can't get lower than that, yet, he redefined himself in connection with His Savior. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. Paul must have read the story of Gideon. Gideon expressed his inability, "But the Lord said to him, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.'" The key to Paul's victory and the key to Gideon's victory was not how other people defined them, nor was it the facts. The key was God's presence in them. If God can make a donkey talk and rocks cry out for His purposes, He can surely use a person. In fact, the less we have going for us, from the world's point of view, perhaps the greater potential we have for giving God glory. Once, Peter and John had to stand before the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law, in addition to the high priest and some members of his family for preaching about Jesus. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Paul encourages the Corinthians to be mindful of their circumstances. "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh,not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, 'LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.'" Go forth and be victorious, in the name of the Lord!
