“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’”
Acts 23:11 (NIV)
Paul had just survived another situation that could have ended his life. The Roman commander had pulled him away from people who were ready to tear him apart, and Paul was taken back into the barracks. In the middle of that dark night, Jesus came near and said, “Take courage.” Not because the danger was over, but because Paul still had an assignment.
Jesus told him, “As you have told people about me in Jerusalem, so you must also tell people about me in Rome.” On the surface, that does not sound like comfort. After everything Paul had endured for preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem, why would he want to go testify in Rome too? But Jesus was not asking Paul to find courage inside himself. He was calling Paul to take courage from Jesus.
That same phrase shows up in Matthew 14 when the disciples see Jesus walking on the water. They are terrified, but Jesus comes close and says, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” As long as Peter looked at Jesus, he walked. When he looked at the wind and the waves, he sank. The power to walk was never in Peter. The power was in the One he was looking at.
I think that is what Jesus is showing Paul here. Do not look at the beating. Do not look at the threats. Do not look at the chains, the pain, or the room you are sitting in. Look at Jesus, the Lord who has kept you before and will strengthen you again. Jesus is telling believers today the same thing: look at God and walk. Do not look at the waves and sink. Trust God with your whole life today, and fulfill the assignment he has given you.