Stoned but Not Stopped
“Fear not, For I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10
When you have God on your side, you do not have to give up or give in. No matter what you are going through in life, there is hope. Isaiah 41:10 assures us of this when it says, “Fear not, For I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Then we see in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Yesterday, we looked at the famous Timex slogan that said, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” As believers of Christ, we can take a licking, and we should not stop ticking. In Acts 14, Paul decided to return to Lystra after being battered, bloodied, beaten, and bruised.
I believe one of the reasons he made this decision was to send a message to those who saw what happened and to let them know that while he had taken a licking, he was still ticking. Yes, he was stoned, but he wasn’t stopped. He was hated, but he wasn’t hindered.
And those who saw Paul go through all of that needed to know, that was not the end of his story. The devil did not win, and there is vindication on the other side of every violation.
But make no mistake about it. Paul didn’t just give an example to those who saw him beaten. He gave an example to every man and woman who would ever read this story. You might feel like you have been stoned, like the world has been throwing rocks at you and they just keep knocking you down.
You might be down, but you are NOT out. The devil might be throwing stones your way. But he cannot stop you. God is not finished with you yet. This is not the end of your story. God has a special plan and purpose for your life. Are you going to continue to lie down, or are you going to get up and see what He has in store for you?
When you have God on your side, you do not have to give up or give in. No matter what you are going through in life, there is hope. Isaiah 41:10 assures us of this when it says, “Fear not, For I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Then we see in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Yesterday, we looked at the famous Timex slogan that said, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” As believers of Christ, we can take a licking, and we should not stop ticking. In Acts 14, Paul decided to return to Lystra after being battered, bloodied, beaten, and bruised.
I believe one of the reasons he made this decision was to send a message to those who saw what happened and to let them know that while he had taken a licking, he was still ticking. Yes, he was stoned, but he wasn’t stopped. He was hated, but he wasn’t hindered.
And those who saw Paul go through all of that needed to know, that was not the end of his story. The devil did not win, and there is vindication on the other side of every violation.
But make no mistake about it. Paul didn’t just give an example to those who saw him beaten. He gave an example to every man and woman who would ever read this story. You might feel like you have been stoned, like the world has been throwing rocks at you and they just keep knocking you down.
You might be down, but you are NOT out. The devil might be throwing stones your way. But he cannot stop you. God is not finished with you yet. This is not the end of your story. God has a special plan and purpose for your life. Are you going to continue to lie down, or are you going to get up and see what He has in store for you?
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