SCRIPTURE READING:
Acts 16
THE KEY IS TO DO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU TO DO
v10 ‘Well, that settled it. We would go to Macedonia, for we could only conclude that God was sending us to preach the Good News there.’ (Living Bible)
So we see how Paul gets this leading and direction from God and then he acts on it. Often we will hear the word of God, or sense His leading and prompting, but do we act on it, do we respond to it? Or does it get drowned out by all the other demands of life? Most versions of the Bible pick up on His immediate response.
NIV: ‘After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia.’
God’s Word Translation: ‘As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia.’
KJV: ‘After he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia.’
The Greek word used means immediately, straightway, at once and forthwith. Sometimes we lose the momentum of the moment when we hesitate or second guess ourselves and God’s leading. The truth is that it is worth taking the risk. To obey is better than sacrifice. This applies even if it entails effort. Paul and Silas had to catch a boat and travel for possibly two days or more to get to where God had shown them that He wanted them. Don’t allow the degree of difficulty to determine if you will obey God’s leading.
OPPOSITION AND CHALLENGES ARE PART OF THE DEAL
Sometimes we imagine that if we are following God and in His will for our lives that everything will always go smoothly. The truth is that God will work everything out for our good, but opposition and challenges remain part of the deal. No sooner did they arrive in Macedonia, a demon-possessed slave girl who was also a fortune teller starts taunting them. This taunting goes on for days, until Paul could not take it anymore. He commands the demon to come out of her and she is instantly healed. As a result of this, Paul and Silas were dragged before judges, then they were stripped, beaten and thrown in prison. Imagine you are a guest in a town, and you are there to do good, but you end up accused, dragged around, stripped, beaten and thrown in prison……….. it’s enough to make most people leave the ministry. God used these bizarre circumstances to get Paul and Silas to where they needed to be so that they could meet the man they had seen in the vision who had been calling for help. The strange thing about Paul and Silas is that they end up in prison, wounded, with their feet in stocks and yet they could choose to rejoice. This remains for me one of the greatest testimonies. We too can go through a season where things are not working out for us while at the same time time we are serving God and in His will. It’s our response to the opposition that determines the next thing that will happen. In the midnight of your life, what will your response be? This is one of the wonderful things about being children of God. That circumstances do not need to dictate our state of mind and heart.
v25 ‘Around midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to the Lord…..’
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