In the Duffer Brothers’ mini-series, Sam Cooper lives in a retirement community, mourning the loss of his wife. While he struggles with loneliness and feelings of uselessness, he discovers a monster stalking the elderly and killing them. In typical horror fashion, the security guards don’t believe him, and the community CEO is shady. His first attempt to save a friend from the terror is botched. Sam must defend the community against this horror, at the cost of disrupting the peaceful paradise.

Paul had a similar predicament in the Greek community. When he and Barnabas visited Lystra to heal a man with paralyzed feet, they were mistaken for Greek gods, Zeus and Hermes. The town went nuts trying to worship them. Paul disrupted the whole village, but things got worse when he had to convince them that Jesus was the miracle worker. Their attempt to redirect the conversation to the gospel ended in the town stoning them, as rival religious workers used the chaos to their advantage.

Sometimes working for Jesus can be messy and unprofitable. We assume that God gives us a magic bullet for reaching others because we are doing a good work. Unfortunately, some situations seem chaotic at best. Does this mean we picked the wrong situation to help or God didn’t want us to be in that situation? No, even when it seems like our words and actions cause a ruckus, God will always use the truth for his benefit. What feels like a total mess up today could be a positive interaction in the future. Because of Paul’s efforts in Lystra (modern-day Turkey), there are Christians there today.

You never know how God will use your faithfulness. Don’t give up because things got messy.

FIGURE IT OUT:

14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes and sprang into the multitude, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of the same nature as you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them; 16 who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you[b] rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

18 Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the multitudes from making a sacrifice to them. 19 But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. Acts 114:114-19

  1. Read over the passage circling any words or phrases that stand out to you. What did you notice?
  2. How did Paul try to rectify the situation?
  3. How would you encourage or comfort someone who feels like they messed up sharing the Gospel?
  4. Acts 14:20-23 shows a positive ending to the disaster. What does this show about God’s work in your ministry?