Saturday, July 05, 2014

Hardly...

Acts 27:8 KJV
And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.

Paul believed he was in the will of God when he made that final trip to Jerusalem. He knew the warnings. He knew the dangers. He was willing to face them because he knew the will of God.
  • It had been the will of God to reject freedom through bribing Felix
  • It had been the will of God to appeal to Caesar rather than be returned to a Jewish mob-court
  • It had been the will of God to plead for the soul of Agrippa
He believed himself to be in the service of God when he was placed on the ship taking him to a Roman trial. It was, I have no doubt, the will of God.

But still, God did not make the work of taking him to Rome easy.
  • The first leg of the trip was plaques by nearly no wind to push the boat through the seas.
  • The stay in Fair Havens was not commodious
  • The next leg of the trip found them caught in a storm and ship wreck. 
It can be God's will for us to suffer for His name's sake. When that becomes our lot we should face it with the joy of the Lord:
  • In our heart,
  • On our lips and
  • Expressed in our manners 
But, Jesus said Matthew 26:24 KJV
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
God's will may be to let evil and wicked intentions have their course for now but His plan includes vengeance upon those who execute those intentions. He will give them clue after clue that they should repent.

Paul, therefore, was not a victim. He was an instrument in God's hands.


May we come to see our own troubles in that same light.

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