The Apostle Paul: Epic Failure

Today we continue to follow the story of the Apostle Paul and his call to serve the risen Christ. Paul’s first mission to Damascus was a disaster. People became so annoyed with his preaching about Jesus that they plotted to kill him. The situation becomes so bad that one night Paul has to get out of town, but he can’t even walk out the gates of the city. His only recourse is to be lowered down the city walls while sitting in a basket – not exactly a picture of success. What was going on in Paul’s mind as they lowered him down in that humble basket? Did he think about how pitiful this looked? Did he think about how differently he was leaving the city from how he had planned to leave? Did Paul wonder if Jesus had made a mistake in calling him to be his instrument? Paul’s early failure was formative to his faith. He continued to learn from it. We learn from Paul’s story that God can use our failures to transform us.

Pastor Brenda