HANSON DEVOTIONAL

Paul and Barnabas went to the Galatian region and continued to see great success in their ministry. We read that “a great multitude believed” in verse 1. Success in ministry always leads to opposition and verse 2 tells us that unbelieving Jews began stirring up trouble among all the people. In spite of this difficulty verse 3 tells us that both Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time “speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord.”

There are two aspects of that last statement that I would like to dwell on for a moment. First, they were speaking boldly. They recognized the opposition but didn’t let that hinder them; they continued to share the message of salvation. We need to have that same boldness in our lives. That doesn’t mean we should be obstinate, but our lives and our speech should continually reflect the presence of God in a way that pleases Him and challenges and convicts others. There are too many closet Christians in America today. The potential opposition we face is very minor compared to the condemnation the early disciples encountered. They faced physical as well as verbal abuse. We read later in this chapter (verse 19) Paul was stoned almost to the point of death.

Secondly note that they relied completely on the Lord. They recognized He was working through them to impact the lives of others. They completely depended on Him for guidance and protection. I think this means physically as well as mentally and emotionally. They depended on the Spirit to lead them to their audience and also to give them the words they should speak. They regarded their own physical safety as not as important as carrying out God’s will in sharing the message. They relied on Him to care for them physically or to call them to an eternal relationship with Him. Paul’s attitude is reflected in his statement in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

The challenge Paul give us in these verses is to live our lives boldly, but as we do that to depend completely upon Him. When we completely depend on Him the Holy Spirit will guide us in every aspect of our lives and we will carry out His perfect will for us.