When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia. Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week. On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.
Acts of the Apostles 20:1-12 NLT
Paul was a polarizing person. There were some people who disliked him so much they were trying to kill him. There were others that loved him so much they were traveling with him from all over the region. Others were willing to stay up all night to hear him preach and teach. We can tell that Paul deeply loved people, too – he was the first one downstairs to find the dead young man Eutychus who fell out of the window. God performed a miracle through Paul, and the young man was brought back to life.
Everyone will not like us. We all know this, but it is still hard when someone dislikes us. We sometimes start attacking them back or being rude. We sometimes ignore them or gossip. Paul was not perfect, but he gave us a great example to follow. We only need to please God; we can focus on the work God has for us. This does not mean we are arrogant or do life alone. Paul was surrounded by others constantly and was willing to hear feedback and criticism. We don’t need to fight back – we need to press on, knowing we have the approval of the only opinion that matters. We don’t even live for the approval of those who love us. We only need to please God. This gives us strength in His unending love as we build our security around Him, not our performance or the approval of others.
Are you living to please God alone? How will you open your heart to hear His voice of challenge and encouragement today?
