You Can’t Win Them All

When Paul started preaching in Iconium, things seemed to be going well. In Acts 14 we read, “a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.” Yet the momentum didn’t last as “Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.” So how did Paul change the tide?

Well, he didn’t, at least not immediately. In verse three it tells us “Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord” Those folks that had been disillusioned by the opposition took time to convince. Even after the prolonged effort, they didn’t convince everyone. As we read in verse 4 “But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles”.

I am afraid that many forget these lessons. When we put our hand to the plow, we oftentimes expect quick and easy results. If those don’t come or problems muster, we are quick to give up and proclaim it isn’t working. Yet, success in spreading the Gospel isn’t about the numbers but the effort. Pail still spoke boldly and continued to trust in God even when things were not going as good as he had hoped.

His effort while they may not have won everyone, they did win some and to those, it would make all the difference.

Some seeds sprout quickly, some take their time and others never do take. We must patiently continue to water and plant knowing a harvest will come.

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Ecclesiastes 12:10

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