Devotion: Reassurance from the Lord

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people’ (Acts 18:9,10).

A quick phrase search for ‘Do not be afraid’ on Bible Gateway brings up 80 results. It is found in 28 different books of the Bible. In other words, it is a consistent theme that runs throughout. Most of them are spoken by God to his people, Jesus to his followers or relayed to others via one of his messengers, for example, the angel to Mary or the prophet to his audience.

When Paul was in Corinth, the Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you …’. It would seem the logical thing for Paul to do at that point would be to speak about Jesus, knowing that God had his back, so to speak. God had placed enough people around the city to ensure that Paul would have someone whom God had put into different situations to keep watch on Paul so that trouble and persecution would not happen. In other words, Jesus could be spoken about, and God’s love shared with relative peace.

Here in Australia, we enjoy freedom of speech, our churches aren’t burned down, our pastors aren’t arrested for sharing the gospel, and our schools and aged-care facilities are given the licence to openly promote Christianity. It’s like these words are being relived as a blessing from God for us to enjoy.

However, we also know that many places are not so fortunate. Persecution of Christians is worse now than it has ever been – just visit the Voice of the Martyrs website for proof.

‘Do not be afraid’ are God’s words of reassurance to you again today. After all, what’s the worst that can happen: you get persecuted or – worse – killed for speaking about Jesus? Then what? – you go to heaven – sooner than you would have preferred? Still, don’t be afraid. God is with you each day.

Reflect on a time when you were confident of God’s promise to not be afraid. What was it like? Thank him for what you learned from it.

Ever-present God, thank you for your ongoing protection and promise that we are never alone because you are with us always. Help us to be confident of living boldly for you each day. Amen.

Devotion written by Pastor Steve Liersch

Prayer Points

We give thanks for all the organisations that support us by donating food and other goods.

We pray for members of our community who are unwell or suffering and pray for full recovery for these people.

We pray for the Thang, Ling, and Ngatawng families.

Micah Award

Avleen for showing service to others.

Nwe Ni Aye for showing courage and compassion