Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

“You want me to do what?” This is a mental glimpse into what I would be thinking if I were Barnabas or Paul when God prompted them to return to Antioch not once, but twice. Remember what happened the first time? My buddy Paul was almost killed!  Again, another glimpse from what I could hear Barnabas explaining to God as if God wasn’t there. 

Isn’t it funny how we can at times think God has no clue what is going on in our lives? I bet we all have been there a time or two. Especially when we think we are doing the right thing or going in the direction we think God has given us. Even better is when we can get so perplexed and distraught that we think bad and unfortunate things only happen to us!

What’s even cooler to me is that amid the calamity, destruction, delusion, or whatever it is I face, I can attest that God has always, without fail, shown Himself to me, though not always in the way I wanted him to.  Though I have never heard His actual voice or seen God personally, it has always been in a person’s encouraging word, a lyric in a song, a verse in His Word, or better yet, an act of kindness from a friend.

But today, God revealed something important to me through this scripture. In Act 14:22, we read, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Hold on! What do you mean?! I thought once I surrendered to Christ, all my dreams would come true. Every past, present, and future friendship would be amazing.  I would get the best job, and overall, I would receive the best life! Paul and Barnabas are teaching us a very specific reality in this current world and time, there will be hardships. I don’t think they are saying you have to self-impose hardships in your life to enter the kingdom of God, but they are teaching us that following Christ is counter-cultural, which means that it goes against the grain. It is like taking the road less traveled, and it can be seen as weird from the outside looking in. 

When I look at the words from the passage, “We must go through many hardships...”,  I realize that we will always have adversity in our lives.  Knowing this, I’m able to put a name to it and gain some perspective. Paul and Barnabas demonstrated this perspective through their actions. Despite the hardships they were experiencing, they were fully focused on the second part of the scripture, “...to enter the Kingdom of God.” They had faith and trusted that they too would enter the Kingdom of God. I ask all of us, “What else is there?” Paul and Barnabas were pretty much saying we are trading in our broken earthly desires for the image Jesus saw them as and His desire for their life.

This is what compelled them to be on a mission of seeing others enter the Kingdom of God. This describes for us the greatest commandment Jesus shared with the teachers of the law.  When they asked Him to choose the most important of the Ten Commandments, Jesus said that they are all important, but all of them filter through, “Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

I believe this is a daily decision. Are we going to do the things we feel are right and necessary for our lives, or are we going to invite Jesus to be a part of that decision to help us live each moment and day with and for Him so that others may know Him too? 

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection: 

• What’s holding you back? Are you making having a relationship with Jesus harder than it really is? If you are in a House Church, I encourage you to share this with your House Church Pastor. Have a conversation. 
  
• What are you holding on to that you may need to share with someone or let go? 
• I believe in this day in time, it may not just be a location God is calling you to go back to, but instead a potentially broken relationship that needs mending. So, I challenge you to seek this person out, ask God for guidance and strength, and seek the support of trusted biblical community to help you navigate your next steps.  
• Who is it that God may be asking you to return to and seek forgiveness or to forgive? I encourage you to start by praying for that person and ask God to prompt you when it is time to meet with this person and talk with them. I encourage you to not go alone and go when you know it’s God’s timing. Test God in this and set a date and time.