It’s not fair! This is a phrase I hear at least once a week from one of my children. And to be really honest, it’s something that I feel more times than I want to admit.
How is it that when we try our best to do the “right” thing, often it feels like we end up with the short end of the stick?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t have an answer for that.
But what I can offer are some thoughts on how we can respond in a way that points others to Christ.
The apostle Paul was in a similar position. After his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul become a sold-out, passionate believer in Jesus. He spent the remainder of his life sharing the message of the gospel to Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) alike.
But his new found faith and evangelism did not sit well with some of the Jews and religious leaders of the day. They viewed Paul’s message of Christ as a threat to their current system and the power they wielded as a result of it.
So Paul was arrested and imprisoned for simply sharing his faith in Christ with others.
As a prisoner, he boarded a ship for Rome to be be tried before Caesar. The journey was met with many challenges, included a massive storm that led to Paul and the other travelers being shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Soon after they land in Malta, Paul was bitten by a snake, but miraculously did not die. Paul and the ship’s crew spent the next 3 months on the island of Malta.
And what did Paul do? He spent that time praying for and ministering to the sick and afflicted on the island. And they were healed!
Can you picture it? Paul is still a Roman prisoner. And yet, on the ship and on the island, the scripture says that he was ministering to the others.
While he’s on his way to be tried before Caesar, he doesn’t waiver in his faith. His encounter with Jesus changed him forever. The storms, shipwreck, and unjust imprisonment did not deter him from demonstrating the love and power of God to others.
I pray that you can be encouraged that in the middle of your “prison” you can still find a way to be a light to those around you. It is most often in this environment that people will see God glorified in your life and through your story.
~ Vijoy
