NOTES for Act 14:19-28

How difficult it can sometimes be for us to bear problems, a lack of something, or simply bad weather... Everything is wrong; there is no desire to do anything and no joy. The knowledge that we must thank God for everything only intensifies the irritation that has already poisoned the day... What are we to do? We want to break free from this state, but how? The answer will come as no surprise: only with God's help. Yes, through our discontent and unwillingness to acknowledge our condition as sinful, and through our shame over all of it, we must entrust ourselves to the Lord and to His grace (Acts 14:23). Through the prayers of our brothers and sisters and by standing before Him ourselves, we must come to Him without fearing that He will not receive us (John 6:37).