21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” (Acts 27)
We are told that one of people's greatest fears is that of public speaking. So, it may seem like little comfort for God to have sent and angel to tell Paul: "Don't worry; you're not going to die. You just have to give a public speech before the most powerful man in the world in the capital of worldly authority." Paul was on a ship with a bunch of unbelievers headed toward Rome. Everyone was looking at him like they had looked at Jonah: "What have you done to your God to make Him send us into such a terrible storm?" Paul boldly spoke up to honor his God. He was going to trust His promises, and not be afraid to speak of him anywhere. Perhaps the greatest fear of public speaking is that of testifying to the love and power of God in Christ. Satan is working hard to shut us up - not from the outside, but from the inside - through fear - fear of what people may say or do. And though many have suffered for their testimony - even becoming martyrs, we need to remember Paul here. The greater fear has the greater honor beyond it. If we would "rather die" than speak up for Christ, then the greatest joy and honor we could experience is to do just that: speak up for Him. Really. What do we have to lose? More time suffering in a sin-struck world? Seeing an enemy of the cross become a soldier of Christ? It's worth it.
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