The Apostle Paul seemed to have a knack for drawing negative attention. His life was one adventure after another, persecution to persecution, full of beatings, trials and misunderstandings. In today’s text, we see yet another episode where Paul represents Christ before men at some cost to his own well-being and security. And yet again, Jesus is there to encourage and comfort him. He literally appears to him and says “Take courage!”. Jesus may not appear in your room at night, but the Holy Spirit indwells us and God has written down His Word, which is full of encouragement, especially in difficult times so that we can be bold in our faith like Paul.