Daily EncouragementSample

It had been a tough day! Paul had been before the Sanhedrin. The session had begun with Paul’s violent reaction to being struck on the mouth at the high priest’s command - “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!” Did he lose his temper? He would not have been the first missionary to do so, even under less extenuating circumstances. Then he had got the Pharisees and Sadducees arguing, and the meeting ended in uproar.

He had “lost his cool.” He had been sarcastic (for many think that sarcasm is the best explanation of his words, “I did not realize he was the high priest”). He had been clever, for his “I am a Pharisee” had taken the heat off himself and had started a fire among his accusers.

Such thoughts as these must have occupied his mind “the following night.” There must have been further questions - “Was I really successful? Did I act as my Lord would have done?” The aftermath to this emotional scene and the hours of heart-searching must have left him discouraged.

But “the Lord stood near.” He is always near, but at such times he gives his servants a special sense of his presence. He does not rebuke them. He encourages them with appreciation of their past service and with a prospect of new opportunities.