40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.
After being beaten unjustly in this town, Paul and Silas take time to encourage their friends before leaving town. Think about that. They were just beaten and thrown in prison because one man’s profits were taken away. The profits disappeared when the Lord brought deliverance to his slave girl. She had been the freak at the side show, and now she was healthy. This man got the religious leaders involved and the crowd joined into the fray. Finally the government came, imposed punishment without a trial, and threw them in prison for the night. If I had been in that situation I am pretty sure my first thought would be to get out of town as fast as I could as soon as I could. But Paul and Silas know they are following the leading of the Holy Spirit, so they take time to go back to their friends and encourage them. They are not worried about the authorities. They have eternal values on their minds. Physical wounds heal, but these believers need encouragement. Paul and Silas provide that encouragement. I don’t think they leave the town because the authorities tell them to leave. I think they leave because they know it is God’s time to leave. They are on a mission and must not get sidetracked. It would be easy to spend some time with friends and camp out in a place where you now have the ability to sway the system because you can hold something over the head of the political leaders of that area. If Paul and Silas had wanted to they could have pushed the illegal beating. They could have brought the officials to trial and won the case. What they did was clearly illegal and the officials knew it. They were nice to Paul and Silas because they did not want their bosses to know that they had broken the law. But Paul and Silas know taking time to get even would only take away from their eternal mission, so they encourage their friends and are off to their next destination. Don’t get sidetracked today. Keep focused on God’s eternal purpose for your life.
The Arnold Journey 