When God calls us to His work, sometimes we have a false idea that everything will be smooth sailing. But in reality, that’s not the case. When you walk with the Lord, even when ministering to others, there are times you experience challenges you don’t understand. That’s what happened to Paul and Barnabas.

On their first missionary journey, they visited the city of Antioch and exhorted the Jewish synagogue. They showed the Jews how their history all led to Jesus and how they could experience salvation in Him. When their meeting dispersed, the Gentiles in the city begged that they could hear the same message preached to them the next Sabbath. 

So, the next week, “almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God” (Acts 13:44).  That sounds like a wonderful thing, and you would think the Jews would be excited about the large congregation. But in fact, the opposite was true. “When the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul” (v. 45).         

Paul and Barnabas then explained that the word of God was preached first to the Jews, but since it was rejected, they were turning to the Gentiles. The Gentiles received the message gladly and spread the word through the whole region. But the Jews were indignant and literally ran Paul and Barnabas out of town, expelling them from the city.

Now, think what it must have been like to be in the shoes of Paul and Barnabas. You’re out doing the ministry God has called you to do, you see multitudes coming to the Lord, and the Gospel message is spreading quickly. Things seem to be going great. But now, suddenly the ones who should be your biggest supporters turn on you and force you out of town.  

That would have been a great opportunity for Paul and Barnabas to grow bitter, confused, discouraged, and disillusioned. That would have been a prime time to give up and go back home in defeat. But thankfully, Paul and Barnabas didn’t give in to the temptation to stop; they simply moved forward with the vision God had given them.  “But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:51-52).  

There is such power in moving forward in God!  We need to realize that one of the greatest tactics of Satan is to get us to stop. But when we keep going, we give God the opportunity to keep working through us. Paul and Barnabas experienced what could have been a heartbreaking disappointment, but their calling was too sure to let them quit.

They “shook off the dust from their feet against them” and kept going. They had to shake off their disappointment, shake off their confusion, shake off the heartache, and shake off the rejection. You see, God had an even greater blessing in front of them. They moved forward and “were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

Maybe you’ve experienced a challenge you don’t understand or faced rejection you don’t deserve. You may be tempted to give up, but don’t!  Know that God still has great things in your future.  Human interference can’t stop God’s supernatural plans. So, shake off the disappointment and move forward in God! Keep your eyes on Him, and be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit!