Take CourageJesus still has an important plan for you!

Note: This month I’m posting a series of devotional thoughts from Acts. Many of these are reposts, some are new. I’m “working out the kinks” for submission to a compilation of short, pastoral writings in Acts to be published later this year. If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please let me know!

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Acts 23:11

Paul found himself stuck in a massive storm that was threatening to take him out. The Jewish leaders had rejected him. His ministry plans had been shut down. He was a Roman prisoner. People were actively plotting against his life.

In the midst of all this, Jesus stood near Paul.

Do you understand that whatever you may be facing, Jesus is standing near you? When you are thrown a huge curveball in life, Jesus is not far away.

And He’s ready to tell you the same thing He told Paul that night:

“Take courage; I have an assignment for you.”

You may be bankrupt, emotionally stretched, and physically on the ropes, but as long as you are still alive, there is a purpose for your existence. You may feel like you are in prison and that others want to see your life finished, but God is bigger than all of that.

“Take courage; I still have an assignment for you.”

In the fifth chapter of Philippians, Paul wrote that he had learned the secret to being content whatever the circumstance. He also wrote: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” And all this was written from a prison cell to some folks who had met him after being beaten and thrown into yet another prison.

“Take courage; I still have an important assignment for you.”

Listen to Jesus right now. He is with you and has a great plan for your life—and it’s a plan for you to make a real difference in the world. As long as He is your Lord, and as long as you are alive, He has a mission in which you are called to participate. In fact, the reality of your situation may be that He is using what you are going through to put you right where He wants you to be for His glory.

Don’t let any circumstance or challenge cause you to imagine He is not there with you, or that He isn’t actively involved in working out His plan in and through you!