Day 248: Acts 14:21–22

They returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch . . . telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God” (vv. 21–22).

This next portion of Scripture unfolds in Derbe. In just a few short verses, we see Paul and Barnabas backtrack through a number of cities on their way to Syrian Antioch, where they had been commissioned. But why did they take the long route? Why in the world would they go back through Lystra (where Paul had been stoned and left for dead), Iconium (where they narrowly escaped being stoned), and Pisidian Antioch (where they were persecuted and expelled)? Acts 14:22 tells us exactly why they walked back into potential peril: to strengthen the disciples and encourage them to remain true to the faith. Paul and Barnabas considered this message about inevitable hardships such a priority that they risked everything to go back through those three cities and tell it.

Their message of encouragement by warning of hardship may seem to be a paradox to us. We may not find a message about unavoidable troubles very strengthening! But we must first recognize that the inevitable nature of hardships can motivate us to redirect our energies. Fear of trials sometimes depletes more energy than facing trials! Once we accept the inevitability of hardship, we can redirect our focus from fear of trials to faithfulness. In the face of tribulations, we often sense a heavenly strength filling our souls right on time.

Second, realizing the inevitability of hardship encourages us in the faith. I would be pretty discouraged if I thought hardships in the lives of surrendered Christians were unusual and were always signs of disobedience. Yes, hardship sometimes comes as a direct result of sin and disobedience. We usually are aware when consequences of sin have caused us deep suffering, but many other times trials have nothing at all to do with disobedience. Believing a heretical prosperity gospel can leave us terribly discouraged, wondering what we’ve done wrong. We wonder why we can’t seem to muster enough faith to be healthy, problem free, and prosperous.

Be encouraged to know that difficulty is not a sign of immaturity or faithlessness. The Holy Spirit will do His job and let you know if you are suffering because of sin. Otherwise, remember—we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.