★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Encouragement – Part 7 ★

Today is a big day.  It’s my sister’s birthday, four months since we got out puppy Maggie 🌸 and of course 1 week until Christmas!  If you follow this blog, you will know that the last post was almost 12 months ago!  The post was called ★ Thought for the Day – Renewed Thoughts & Attitudes ★, and boy was that a prophetic Word from the Lord, as this past year has been the “YEAR of CHANGE”… both good and bad.  It is funny that I had today’s post almost completely done back in January, but the torrent of events tore me away from this post that was so important to me at the time.  I am saddened to think of how I have deprioritized God these past 11-1/2 months and allowed the things of this world to choke out my love of studying God’s Word, writing, and even praying to the One who can change the circumstances!  So, without further ado, I will pick this post back up and bring it to completion in the hopes that the encouragement that I have so desperately needed over the past year could be obtained through the message the Holy Spirit was trying to speak to, and through me back in January.  At the time, I had been studying the Book of Acts with my Monday Virtual Bible Study and in my own personal devotional time.  I was planning to wrap up our Overcoming Adversity Series with Barnabas, another early church believer who overcame adversity through encouragement; but before I do, I just wanted to mention that if you are just coming into the series now, you can go and read them all in order by just clicking here.  At the end of the post, I will have them all listed individually with the Overcomer(s) name for easy reference.

Today’s Thought may seem a little bit of a stretch, how do you “Overcome Adversity Through Encouragement?”  Well one thing that I have learned is that when I focus on ME and about my problems, then it is so much harder to get through whatever dark season of life I am in.  But when I lay aside my worries, fears, or issues, and try to be an encouragement to help others then I find that I am helped even more than the person I was reaching out to.  When Jesus walked this earth as a man, He gave us the example that our lives should be spent serving God and helping others.  And that is what I believe Barnabas was all about!  In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Honest Self-Evaluation ★, I spoke about this great man of God who consistently chased after God, so if you want some additional background, I would stop and read that first as we will not be repeating the content here.

We are first introduced to Barnabas in Acts 4:36-37 (NLT) which says…

“…there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”).  He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.  He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.”

What a nickname…“A Son of Encouragement!”  Practically speaking, it was appropriate for Barnabas to be sent to Antioch since he was from the nearby island of Cyprus but being familiar with the region and being an encourager was not his only qualifications.  Barnabas is described in greater detail in Acts 11:24 (NLT):

“Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.  And many people were brought to the Lord.”

In these two passages we learn a lot, Barnabas…

• Thought of others — He was an encourager.
• He was generous, and Kingdom-minded — Selling his field and giving the proceeds to the Apostles.
• Full of the Holy Spirit.
• Strong in the faith.
• And an Evangelist!

Wow!  What a resume.  This is my earnest desire, to be “A Son of Encouragement” and to be “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith,” that many people will come to the Lord as a result!  But if I am being honest, I have been pretty self-consumed with my own issues and the competing outside pressures that I have not been much like Barnabas of late.  I know this is the enemy trying to discourage and fill me with disillusionment, but I also want to be transparent with you as I think, “what have I done for the Kingdom lately”…but back to Barnabas.  If we back up just 2 verses, we see that Barnabas was sent to Antioch, a pagan city because of the reports Gentiles were believing and turning to the Lord.  In Acts of the Apostles 11:22-23 (NLT) it says:

“When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.”

David Guzik had this commentary on Acts 11:22-24:

“The church in Jerusalem sent an able man in Barnabas, previously known for his generosity (Acts 4:36-37) and his warm acceptance of Saul of Tarsus after he was converted (Acts 9:26-28).”

“Barnabas rightly focused on his main job as a leader of the congregation.  He strengthened the church family itself, with the result that a great many people were added to the Lord.”

I have heard it said that when the Holy Spirit is moving, get on board wherever that may be. Barnabas rolled up his sleeves and got to work encouraging and ministering to the Gentiles in Antioch.  Then as you continue to read Acts of the Apostles 11:25-26 (NLT) it seems to be a side note but it is quite profound:

“Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”

Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36-37), who helped Saul (AKA Paul) to get connected to others believers after his conversation (Acts 9:26-28), is now leading many people in the pagan city of Antioch come to faith in Jesus (Acts 11:22-24), now leaves to go look for Saul.  What I love is that Barnabas does not want to go it alone, but instead he searches for him and brings Saul back so they could work together in this ministry opportunity.  You may recall from that Saul was sent to Tarsus for his own protection after the Jews in Jerusalem tried to murder him, (See Acts 9:28-30). David Guzik also had this commentary on Acts 11:26:

“Saul had spent some twelve years in Tarsus since we last met him; these years were not wasted or lost, but spent in quiet ministry and preparation for future service.”

This is quite interesting when you think about the fact that Saul, who will eventually go by the name Paul, is known for his missionary journeys throughout the known world as one of the chief evangelists of the faith, and an author of most of the New Testament; this same man stayed in one place for (12) years.  One could conceivably attribute Barnabas for helping to launch Saul’s ministry career.  It is unclear exactly why Barnabas left to get Paul, it could be that the church growth was exploding in Antioch, and he needed help, or perhaps it was that he wanted to follow the model that Jesus set forth in Luke 10:1-2 (NLT)…

“The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them:

“The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So, pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs, so I think Barnabas desired to have a partner in ministry like how Peter and John, who travelled together.  Reminds me of what Charles Stanley once said:

“Our faith is never a solitary business, but it is meant to grow in community.“

That, to me, has become my life’s mission, to connect with other men in Biblical Community to help them grow in their knowledge of the Bible, and love of the Lord.  The Virtual Bible Studies that I facilitate Monday through Friday have become my ministry which started off as a solitary quiet time with the Lord and as I grew in my understanding and love for His Word, He gave me the privilege to work alongside the Holy Spirit to challenge men to engage with the Bible and get to know the Author of the faith they profess in a deeper way.  It all starts with us being faithful in small, consistent ways and then all of sudden God will give you your assignment.  That is what happened to Barnabas and Saul in Acts of the Apostles 13:2-3 (NLT) as they were worshiping the Lord and fasting with other brothers, they received their life’s calling from the Holy Spirit.

“One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.” 

From Acts 13:4 thru 15:35 Barnabas and Saul did incredible work together traversing a huge part of the know world is what is referred to as Paul’s first missionary journey:

But with all good things, their partnership came to an end.  Acts of the Apostles 15:38-40 (NLT) proves that no matter how anointed you may be with the Holy Spirit, personal feelings can cause division between believers, resulting in the separation of the dynamic duo of Paul and Barnabas.

“But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work [See Acts 13:13]. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care.”

I am closing this post on what may feel like a bit of a downer, but that is intentional because in life we will face challenges and have people disappoint us or abandon us, but it is in that moment we must decide, will we walk away from the assignment God has given us or persevere?  Barnabas and Paul separated, but Barnabas continued, working for the Lord with John Mark.  One might say, why?  Perhaps Barnabas saw another “Paul” in the making with John Mark?  After all it was Barnabas who helped Paul to get started when he went to Tarsus to ask for his help in Antioch (See Acts 11:25-26).  Also, there is the fact that Barnabas was John Mark’s cousin (See Colossians 4:10), so besides that and the fact that being an encourager, Barnabas was probably more willing to cut John Mark some slack.  Once again Barnabas gives us another encouragement.  As we approach Christmas let’s persevere through whatever adversity we are facing through the encouragement we offer to others.  Don’t let the enemy steal the joy of this season and truth that Jesus is all we need!  Please pray for me for what the next series will be…and that I will overcome this season of adversity!

Merry Christmas!

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Here are the previous post to our Overcoming Adversity Series:

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★ based on Daniel.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★ based on Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego).
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★ based on Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★ based on Jehoiada the Priest.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★ based on Joshua.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6A ★ based on Phillip.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6B ★ based on Stephen.