People of Hope Part 14: Barnabas
Monday devotions@ work 6 July 2020
Last week we contemplated Saul’s story and saw how God gave him a second chance to walk in the calling God had created him for – to carry the Name of God before the Gentiles, the Kings, and the sons of Israel. Saul immediately started to proclaim that Jesus was the Son of God. The believers in Damascus embraced him, supported him, and even helped him escape when some wanted to kill him for his sudden change of mind. He fled back to Jerusalem and tried to join the believers there.
However, In Acts 9:26 it says that they were afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple and was exceedingly distrustful of him. They did not believe this sudden change of heart and were very skeptical of him now suddenly wanting to warm up to them and become part of their church. They probably thought this was simply a change of tactics. That he just wanted to infiltrate them so that it would be easy for him to betray them to the Roman authorities. There was no social media at that time and the only news network that existed then – Camel Network News (or CNN!) – took some time to relay the message. I can imagine his discouragement and he probably thought that he deserved their distrust. But how was he going to be able to convince them of his genuine intent? He needed to be part of the body of Christ and they needed him (even if they at this point did not know that).
In verse 27 we read: “But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.”
It was Barnabas, whose very name means “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36), that opened his mind and his heart to Saul and took him to the disciples and described to them what had happened on the road to Damascus. Barnabas believed him, he believed in him when nobody else would. He saw the genuineness of his conversion; he saw his heart. Saul desperately needed someone to believe in him at that moment and God provided a friend and a mentor that would see beyond the messy story of Saul’s life. And Barnabas saw… And Saul became Paul and grew into a great man of God.
How about today we make an inventory of the people that God brings alongside us to serve us with encouragement, to take us in and believe in us at our crossroad moments, when it is do or die for us to walk in our calling, or move towards our destiny? Those people that pray for us, that have a positive attitude, an encouraging smile, words of affirmation or a gift of some sort, that really build us in faith and give us the opportunity or open the door for us to move forward. Those people who see the potential God placed inside of us, and do not shy away from us because there is a mess to clean up first.
Let us celebrate with thankfulness the God who does not leave us to walk alone and fend for ourselves, but who provides us with people that see what He has put in us and called us to. People that can draw forth the gold in us at those pivotal moments in our lives when we need it the most.
… and then let us ask ourselves who it is that God brings on our life-path that we are supposed to build up in the faith. Are you and I one of those who will dare to believe in someone against all odds? Those that God brings into our world so we can be a “son of encouragement” to them on the journey to their destiny? Who knows if God will not bring a Saul over your path who is in a really big mess now, but who is destined to become the world changer - like Paul?
©2020 All rights reserved HG Venter
Last week we contemplated Saul’s story and saw how God gave him a second chance to walk in the calling God had created him for – to carry the Name of God before the Gentiles, the Kings, and the sons of Israel. Saul immediately started to proclaim that Jesus was the Son of God. The believers in Damascus embraced him, supported him, and even helped him escape when some wanted to kill him for his sudden change of mind. He fled back to Jerusalem and tried to join the believers there.
However, In Acts 9:26 it says that they were afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple and was exceedingly distrustful of him. They did not believe this sudden change of heart and were very skeptical of him now suddenly wanting to warm up to them and become part of their church. They probably thought this was simply a change of tactics. That he just wanted to infiltrate them so that it would be easy for him to betray them to the Roman authorities. There was no social media at that time and the only news network that existed then – Camel Network News (or CNN!) – took some time to relay the message. I can imagine his discouragement and he probably thought that he deserved their distrust. But how was he going to be able to convince them of his genuine intent? He needed to be part of the body of Christ and they needed him (even if they at this point did not know that).
In verse 27 we read: “But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.”
It was Barnabas, whose very name means “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36), that opened his mind and his heart to Saul and took him to the disciples and described to them what had happened on the road to Damascus. Barnabas believed him, he believed in him when nobody else would. He saw the genuineness of his conversion; he saw his heart. Saul desperately needed someone to believe in him at that moment and God provided a friend and a mentor that would see beyond the messy story of Saul’s life. And Barnabas saw… And Saul became Paul and grew into a great man of God.
How about today we make an inventory of the people that God brings alongside us to serve us with encouragement, to take us in and believe in us at our crossroad moments, when it is do or die for us to walk in our calling, or move towards our destiny? Those people that pray for us, that have a positive attitude, an encouraging smile, words of affirmation or a gift of some sort, that really build us in faith and give us the opportunity or open the door for us to move forward. Those people who see the potential God placed inside of us, and do not shy away from us because there is a mess to clean up first.
Let us celebrate with thankfulness the God who does not leave us to walk alone and fend for ourselves, but who provides us with people that see what He has put in us and called us to. People that can draw forth the gold in us at those pivotal moments in our lives when we need it the most.
… and then let us ask ourselves who it is that God brings on our life-path that we are supposed to build up in the faith. Are you and I one of those who will dare to believe in someone against all odds? Those that God brings into our world so we can be a “son of encouragement” to them on the journey to their destiny? Who knows if God will not bring a Saul over your path who is in a really big mess now, but who is destined to become the world changer - like Paul?
Westlife – You raise me up
©2020 All rights reserved HG Venter
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