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“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’”Acts 23:11

Paul’s trip to Jerusalem is a complete failure. His attempt to appease the legalistic Jews by performing a purification rite leads to a riot (chapter 21). Yet this results in Paul telling his Damascus Road conversion story to the Jewish religious leaders and later to the authorities in Rome. Paul’s testimony was heard by a larger audience and God’s purposes were achieved. A failure in our eyes becomes a success in God’s.