Christ Stands With Us

July 8, 2022

“But 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.” NKJV Acts 23:11

Paul had made the decision to go to Jerusalem even though all his friends begged him not to and he was warned by Agabus that he would be arrested. As soon as Paul arrived, he was falsely accused, mobbed, beaten, arrested, dragged before the counsel, and had a group of people swear to kill him before they ate or drank anything. Things could not have been looking worse. I would not be surprised if Paul was starting to wonder if he had made a mistake. But, when everything seemed to be as grim as possible, the Lord Himself appeared to Paul and stood by him. The word “Lord” is not all caps in this verse which means this wasn’t God the Father’s voice speaking to Paul, it was Jesus Christ Himself standing right next to Him in his hour of need. Christ came to confirm for Paul that he had made the right decision by coming to Jerusalem. Jesus Himself came to comfort Paul and tell him He was on the right path. Could you imagine getting to have this moment? To make a decision you believe is God’s will and then have Jesus Himself appear to tell you that you did the right thing? The thing is, while we may not have this exact moment that Paul did, if we internalize God’s word and continually turn to the Lord in prayer, He will reveal His will to us. God will not leave us wandering alone, He will not leave us unsure or unclear about what our path is as long as we come to Him and humbly ask Him which way to go. God has prepared our path beforehand and He will stand by us and build us up every step of the way as long as we remain faithful to Him. Be of good cheer, everyone, because Jesus Christ will always be with you if you choose to follow after Him.