Pray:
Lord, I want to hear You say that I have known You and walked faithfully before You. This is my heart's desire.
Read:
Acts 23:23-35
Reflect:
How is Paul being given opportunity to advance the Gospel?
Paul had a strong calling and many clear prophecies, letting him know God's future plans for him, but even he didn't know exactly how it would all come to pass. Paul knew that his journey was going to take him away from Jerusalem to Rome (23:11), but it's unlikely that he thought his journey would start out in the dead of night, and under the protection of nearly 500 Roman soldiers (23)!
It's so hard to trust our journeys into God's hands, particularly the mundane details. It doesn't mean giving up and sitting still--the laws of physics tell us that it's easier to guide a moving object--but it means remaining open to the fact that God's plan to get us from one point to the next may not only look totally different from ours, but may involve a detour through unexpected routes that we would never have imagined. For Paul, his course to Rome would take at least two more years (24:27), but it would provide plenty more opportunities for the Gospel to be preached along the way (chs. 24-28).
Apply:
Ask God to give You opportunity to share the Gospel. Prepare for routes that are outside what you might expect.
Pray:
Lord, help me to be as Paul and see every situation as an opportunity to spread the message of eternal hope.
