Beyond the Weekend

October 14 | Breaking Point

October 14, 2019

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Acts 18:1

Read: Acts 18:1-22

Listen: Acts 18

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Paul arrives in Corinth not knowing what to expect. His journey to spread the Jesus-message hasn’t been easy or without discomfort. In Philippi, he was flogged and imprisoned. In Thessalonica, a riot fomented against him, and he escapes under cover of darkness. In Berea, he’s rushed out of the city to avoid unrest. In Athens, he experiences polite contempt. It is one thing after another. He’s suffered physically. He’s anxious about the condition of the fledgling Jesus-communities in those cities. He describes entering the city “with great fear and trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). He’s nearing his breaking point.

We may not experience flogging, imprisonment, riots or a late-night escape. But we do experience some of the same feelings as Paul. There are seasons of life when it feels like it is one thing after another. Times when a crucial client puts our account under review, we are getting emails from our child’s teacher weekly about behavior, our mom is still recovering from her stroke, and then the failing dishwasher seal floods the kitchen floor. It’s not so much that one thing pushes us over the edge, but the totality of it all. Suddenly, we are at our breaking point.

This week, we explore how God meets Paul in Corinth. God encourages Paul in three specific ways. Whether we feel like we are currently at a breaking point, have been at a breaking point in the past or realize we will inevitably be at a breaking point in the future—the hope is that God may be pleased to meet us and encourage us in a variety of unseen ways this week.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

In your journal, write a prayer asking God to encourage you wherever you are on the breaking point continuum. Ask that you would be able to see and receive the encouragement God has for you. Thank him for loving you.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

You Might Also Like