Be Like Barnabas

Acts 9:1-31

It’s hard to look down on people when your eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus…

The world is full of critics, which can oftentimes make us feel like we’re fighting an uphill battle all alone.

Have you ever poured your heart into something only to be criticized by the people closest to you due to some minor detail? It can be very discouraging.

But, if we can shift our focus off the critics, we will often find that God has placed an encourager in our life. A special person to provide encouragement through these times of discouragement. Whether you are troubled by a life event, criticism, self-doubt, or any number of roadblocks you may face…I want to encourage you to trust God and watch for your Barnabas.

The Bible tells us about a man named Saul of Tarsus in the book of Acts. Saul is described as a religious man who was, “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” (Acts 9:1 ESV). Saul, a Jewish Pharisee, was obviously not a follower of Jesus at that time. One day, as Saul was traveling to Damascus intent on destroying any Christians he could find, he encountered the resurrected Christ! God was about to change Saul in a miraculous way.

Saul was saved by God’s grace on that road to Damascus! He was a new believer in Jesus Christ the Lord!

But…the Christians in Damascus only knew Saul as the one who had been attacking them in the name of religion.  When Saul began preaching about Jesus, his old Jewish friends turned against him, they even tried to murder him. Saul fled from Damascus to Jerusalem where he attempted to join the group of Christian disciples there…but “they were afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26 ESV).

Saul…a new Christian saved by grace…on fire for the Lord…yet hated by the Jews and rejected by his newly found Christian brothers.

Saul likely felt a mixture of excitement from his salvation experience along with discouragement due to the reaction from everyone around him. But in the midst of these discouraging moments came Barnabas, the great encourager. Barnabas fearlessly brought Saul to the other Christians, showing that he was a new man in Christ. Saul went on to preach and spread the Good News about Jesus all over the region. Saul, who later become known as the apostle Paul, even wrote thirteen of the epistles in the New Testament Scriptures!

Let me encourage you with this…be patient, be strong in the Lord and be looking for your Barnabas. Trust the Holy Spirit will comfort you. Find strength in God’s Word. All the while, be looking for a godly brother or sister in Christ who may be your Barnabas when your down and out.

Take a look around. Someone in your life may be struggling…go be a Barnabas!

Heavenly Father, you know my deepest needs. I trust you, Lord. Grant me wisdom and patience as I serve you. Heavenly Father, place encouragers in my life, and in the lives of my family. Grant me opportunities to be a Barnabas for those around me each day. Amen.