Acts 9:15-16 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

In Acts 22, Paul was taken into custody by a Roman Commander, keeping him from being beaten to death by a crowd of outraged Israelites who accused him of taking a Gentile past the Court of the Gentiles in the Temple. Paul was innocent of the charges, but that didn’t matter much to that angry crowd. In Acts 23, forty men vowed not to eat or drink until they had assassinated Paul. The plot was discovered by Paul’s nephew and the Roman Commander sent Paul away to Caesarea guarded by a small army to be tried before Felix, the governor. Paul would spend the next four years in prison, but Paul’s incarceration did not mean that his usefulness to God was over. To the contrary, God would use Paul’s imprisonment to accomplish great things through him still.

Paul endured adversity, persecution and difficulties throughout his ministry. He was beaten, stoned with rocks, survived shipwrecks, stalked by assassins, was falsely accused, imprisoned, and suffered hunger and lack … Paul endured a lot. He could have looked at all these things as a huge setback or he could have looked at all the problems and discouraged and despaired, and perhaps he did for a while. But there is a much bigger picture and that picture is what we would call the will of God. Paul, while in the midst of so much trouble, was firmly in God’s will.

• What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Psalms 117
• What is the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalms 119
• Which chapter is in the center of the Bible? Psalms 118

There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118, and there are 594 chapters after Psalms 118. When you add these numbers together, you get 1188. What is the center verse in the Bible? The center verse in the Bible is Psalms 118:8. Now, Does this verse say something significant about God’s perfect will for our lives? It sure does. The next time someone says they would like to find God’s perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, send them to the center of His Word!

Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.