Many times we imagine that the Bible time characters are fictitious.The figment of someones fertile imagination.We hardly ever think that they were people who lived the way we do today.They had household chores,ran errands,had neighbours and had expectation from the society.They slept ,woke and went about being busy like anyone of us.
One interesting character in the Bible was Paul,formerly Saul,he seemed to have had a very peculiar story and seemed to have been faced by many hindrances.Reading through the book of Acts from the ninth chapter ,from his encounter to his call he was faced from city to city by upheavals and hindrances.
Imagine for once that you fellowshipped with Paul and he comes to church one day or writes a letter from some distant missionary outpost saying among other things "... and Satan hindered us."1 Thess.2:18 or Rom.15:22 "..for this cause also i have been much hindered from coming to you".Or let us imagine that Paul kept a diary and that his writings were contained in the Bible.But how could Satan hinder Paul? Can any one working for God be hindered? Lets take a closer look at the scripture in Romans 15 it says "for this cause..." anytime there is a Godly cause all hell is let loose. Anytime there is a cause God sets you on a divine course and ...hindrances spring up.Paul says in another place that he fought wild beasts at Ephesus,in fact another time he records "...we were pressed above measure in so much that we despaired of life... we received the sentence of death in our selves" 2 cor 1.8-9. but we are comforted by his words also.
For example he writes in his journal" ... through all this things i am more than a conqueror through him who loved us"Rom 8:37. He says everythinhg that hap penned to him was for the advancement of the gospel. The perils of sea,perils of cold , the wanderings and stoning,the lack and travails of falsebrethren was for the furtherance of thr gospel ,he was just saying the travails were bringing out the best in him. Little wonder he constantly asked brothers pray for us. Here is another important lesson. We need to pray for one another.
Lastly he writes two very profound statements. Acts 26:22..."having therefore received help of God i continue to this day" he was saying , i am just like you but as i have received grace, i have received help and because of that all the hindrances were for the furtherance of the gospel.I have continued to this day. if he continued to this day ,then where are the hindrances? they become history because a hindered man is always a helped man.Secondly he said...2 Tim2:9...."wherein i suffer as an evil doer unto bonds but the word of God is not bound"he was writing that the bonds was not capable of holding him but the word of God that cannot be bound was holding him up and delivering help to him.
He was a hindered man but he was also a helped man because he was within the grips of grace. He was overcoming hindrances because he had a divine cause.I pray that the number of our battles will be the number of our victories.that as we have received help we will continue and end well.
