Out of the Shadows
“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.”
Maybe 15 years ago I collected and read Chuck Swindoll’s series entitled “Great Lives from God’s Word.” The books served as a way for me to dig into Scripture with a little biography and theology sprinkled in. If you’re looking for some great reads on David, Esther, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Paul, and Job, I highly recommend the series. By far, my favorite of the series is about Paul. So, as I landed on this passage of Scripture for today’s devotional, I felt it prudent to borrow the title of the 6th chapter of Swindoll’s book on Paul.
The backstory to this passage is that Paul has been away from the action for a while. After his conversion, he decides he must leave Damascus for fear of being killed. Then, he goes to Jerusalem, where he also decides he must leave for fear of being killed. From there, the brothers send him off to Tarsus. Paul’s conversion through his flight to Tarsus all happens in short order in Acts 9:1-30. We know almost nothing about what Paul did during his time in Tarsus.
What I always remind myself about regarding this part of Paul’s life is God’s ability to utilize, or in this case to not utilize, anyone He wishes. Here we have Paul, likely the most learned Christian on Earth, in the prime of his career. And what is he doing? Nothing important enough to be recorded in Scripture. Paul spends several years in relative obscurity. He might have been sorting through his theology, he might have been witnessing to the local Hellenists, or he may have even taken up tent-making again. But, as for the major church planting activity near Jerusalem, it is happening without Paul.
That’s a good message for a young man or woman who finds that they have the energy to tackle the world. It’s easy to forget that your will may not be in God’s timing. When considering these missing years in Paul’s life, we should remember that God is able to accomplish His will with or without your help. However, as the title of the devotional implies, we are going to discuss when we are called back out of the shadows.
In Acts 10 and 11, we see an explosion in the growth of the church. Many are being added to the body of believers, the sharing of the Gospel is rapidly expanding to the gentiles, and Peter is given his vision regarding what is clean and unclean. Barnabas is then sent from Jerusalem to Antioch to see the new church plant and quickly realizes he is completely outmatched. It quickly becomes obvious to Barnabas that he needs support, and he can’t think of anyone better than his old friend Paul. And while Paul was no doubt a different man after spending years away from the action, make no mistake about it, he was the man for the job and God had been preparing him for the ministry that would now consume the rest of his life. I do not read that Paul has another time of obscurity until he is imprisoned in Rome. We could need the time away. It builds humility, and it builds reliance on God instead of on ourselves. But it will often come to an end so that you can re-engage in ministry.
In some ways, I believe COVID has forced us into obscurity in the past year. We’ve largely been operating in the shadows and for some of you perhaps it’s been even longer than that. While God may have some of you continuing to wait and grow right now, I believe far more of you are called to serve right now!
So, what are you being called on to help serve with? Most of you will not have someone travel for weeks trying to find you and deliver a personal invitation like Barnabas did. However, you have brothers and sisters within The Bridge knocking quite loudly on your doors.
Josh Bell is knocking, offering you an opportunity to be involved in the exciting things happening in the ministry called My Hope for Addiction. Christina Mroz is knocking, asking you to consider the impact you could have in someone’s life through counseling them. Mark Serier is knocking, asking for Youth Group leaders--men and women who can come alongside our youth and give them sound biblical teaching and friendship. Pastor Rob is knocking, looking for those who would be willing to serve in the Children’s Ministry as both a benefit to the parents who would like an undistracted church service to sit through, as well as the kids who may only hear something about the Gospel that week from you, their teacher. The Elders are knocking, looking for Elders, Deacons, and Deaconesses to shoulder the leadership burdens in the church. The list goes on and on.
The same God, who called Paul into years of obscurity according to His will, might be calling you out of the shadows by that same will.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, please open our hearts to receive the calling You’ve placed on our hearts. Please give us an excitement for You and Your Gospel message so that all other things would fail in comparison. Help us to run after You in a way in which all serving excites us and our greatest joys are those we celebrate within the local body of believers. Amen.
