A People That’s Ready

My, Devotion to Him #215

Verse Passage: Acts 18:9-10 “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” – NIV

Paul was in Corinth, a city of pagan worshippers. And surely known for such. There was temples to others such as Apollo, Hermes, and Isis. There were twenty-six sites of worship to other gods. There was one that stood above them all. On a hill overlooking the city was a temple devoted to prostitution, which was temple of Venus, fat with enslaved women and boys collecting money for the city’s beloved goddess. Wickedness spewed forth from this city and the city itself was engulfed with such evil. Corinth had such a reputation for immorality that the name Corinthian became synonymous for a pleasure-seeking person.

God wanted Paul in Corinth. Unlike nearby Athens, where the residents loved discussing philosophy, Paul questioned how safe he would be in Corinth. Due to the very reputation of the city for its obvious worship of multiple gods. Would the residents want to change their ways? Would they want to hear that their gods were false? Would they want to give their heart to only one God? How would they receive such a message that there was only One True God? What kind of protection do I need or would I have going to the city? Any of us would be asking these same questions.

Paul could not see the corners where people were crying out for help or the spirits that were eager for change. The people that wanted something else, the people that knew there had to be something more than what was being offered. He could not see the harvest that was there. He could not see the harvest that was ready to be picked.

Paul heeded (obeyed) the vision God gave him anyway. As we all should when God is telling us to do something.

The humble of Corinth flocked to Paul. A few Jews came, but most of the Corinthian church were converted pagans, poor people, and slaves eager for God’s love. Eager for more. Longing for such a beacon of hope. The harvest was so plentiful that Paul stayed in Corinth a year and a half and then came back twice more.

Sometimes the most unexpected places are full of ready hearts. God might be tugging on you to go somewhere. Maybe a certain part of your city, state, nation, or world. But we don’t think we should because of our earthly eyes and our earthly thinking and were asking the same questions that Paul was asking. However, God is pointing to an area that is longing for something else. He is tugging on our hearts to go forth to the land in which is ready for Him. He is opening doors to the place in which the people are broken, hurting, and eager for change. He is declaring that there is people ready to hear. There is a people wanting to know. There is a people who will be changed forever if you will go because the harvest is ready.

Will you harvest the hearts of a people that’s ready?

God bless!

Copyright © by Jacob Olinger 2019