In the month leading up to my departure, I happened to be reading through the Book of Acts. I did not plan to read this in preparation for my return to the mission field, yet God being God worked in a sovereign way to use this study to encourage me and spark a fresh eagerness for being on the mission field.
More than half of the book is a record of the first missionary journeys! The beginning of Acts 13 depicts a group of believers gathered together. "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them. (Acts 13:2). The Lord called these men to be sent out, led by His Holy Spirit, to accomplish the work He had prepared for them. Wow, what a great opportunity!
From there, the rest of Acts is filled with Paul's various missions trips and evangelism. What amazed me about Paul was his ability to evangelize, regardless of the circumstances. If they were kicked out of the city—sometimes literally dragged out of the city—they merely went to a neighboring city or region and evangelized there. After being stoned, he once again continued onward to share the Gospel message. And when they attempted to go into Bithynia from Mysia, "the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them" (Acts 16:7), and so they instead went to Troas. It was like instead of sitting around and sulking about the detour, their reaction was, "What a great opportunity to minister to Troas!
Really, in many of Paul's complications, we see him with this mentality of "What a great opportunity!" While in prison, he saw it a great opportunity to worship the Lord. When the Lord sent an earthquake that offered them an escape from jail, he saw it as a great opportunity to evangelize to the prison guard—who was about to take his own life. Other times that he was forced out of a city, he took advantage of the opportunity to revisit the Christians in a neighboring city, that he had been to months or years prior—in order to "strengthen the brothers." Any time he was brought into trial, you can just sense him thinking, "This is perfect. Now I get to evangelize to the governing authorities. What a great opportunity!"
This gratefulness for the opportunities to witness to the governing authorities reaches a climax during his trial that starts in Jerusalem and carries him all the way to the courts of Caesar. During this entire duration, he is constantly presented before governors, kings, and then ultimately the emperor—but not to dine with them! He is still a captive, a prisoner who is insulted, considered mad, and sometimes beaten. Yet he is ecstatic about it because it means that the Gospel is reaching all the way from the bottom to the top. (I mean, can you imagine if in the United States you are put on trial for sharing the Gospel, and it takes you through the entire hierarchy of the judicial system, even PAST the Supreme Court, until you are in the White House testifying before the president about how Jesus has changed your life?!...) Even during his shipwreck-filled journey to Rome (while still a captive), he is evangelizing to his probation officer, to the people on the island where they shipwreck, etc ... it is truly amazing how hopeful this man is with every circumstance that comes.
And while we glean from Paul's testimony the encouragement to esteem every circumstance–every blessing, every complication, every inconvenience, every detour, every loss—as an opportunity to advance the kingdom of God, don't fail to miss perhaps the greatest takeaway from Paul's testimony: the Gospel message is that valuable that a man would gladly take imprisonments and beatings just to share it with others. The Gospel message is that powerful that no matter what came he could face life with joy and hope and transform any circumstance into an opportunity to advance the kingdom of God.
I am so thankful that God has extended this Gospel message to me, that He has mercifully yet justly saved my life and offered me a hope and freedom (all thanks to Jesus) that I once didn't have. And I pray that God grow my reverence and fervency for the Gospel message, so I too can so powerfully seek every circumstance as an opportunity to evangelize to others and thus advance the kingdom of God here on earth.
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