Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
Acts 14:19

I remember watching a “mini-series” in the early 1980s entitled “Peter and Paul.” It starred Robert Foxworth and Anthony Hopkins as the two apostles. Though it was dramatized with many non-biblical (though not anti-biblical) elements, it was pretty good as I remember.

The first thing that strikes me upon remembering that drama about the book of Acts is that it was aired on network television. Can you imagine that in the year 2021? If it were produced and aired on network TV at all today, Peter and Paul would likely be portrayed either as narrow-minded bigots for claiming Jesus is the only way to Heaven, or else as social justice warriors championing racial and or gender equity! My, how we have fallen!

The other item I always remember was a scene in which after being stoned by their persecutors, while walking to their next destination, someone in the entourage asked Paul (Anthony Hopkins), “What if we are treated similarly in the next town?” Paul’s reply (fictionalized, to be sure), was: “Pray for softer rocks.” Clever writing, wouldn’t you agree?

Many, if not most of us have wondered how we would hold up if persecuted—especially if we were facing martyrdom. It is a fair question. I believe the best answer is threefold:

We needn’t think we must be strong enough right now to face what may or may not happen in the future.
God will give us the grace we need when we need it.
What we need to do now is prepare for the possibility by “growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ” so that if and when we must face such a thing, we will have developed an abiding trust in Him.

No one is strong enough to endure persecution. But the Lord in us is always and ever strong enough to carry us in any and every situation. Let us be anchored solidly in Him.