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I’m quite challenged by Acts 21:13! Are you?
Acts 21:13
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking m… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Today’s meditation is straight out of my morning study. This verse just hit me so much I had to share it with you and then let’s meditate on it together. It’s Acts 21 verse 13. Then Paul answered, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
So setting the scene here, we’ve got Paul on his way to Jerusalem, where the Holy Spirit’s been telling him to go, but also the Holy Spirit’s been telling him he’s going to be imprisoned and he’s going to be beaten and he’s going to suffer.
And all along the way, the disciples, that is other Christians, other people who listen to the voice of God have been saying, "Paul, don’t go!" so this is brothers and sisters in the Lord saying to him, you don’t need to do this.
But Paul knew the task that he’d been given by God, and he was completely unswerving in that. There was no way he was going to deviate. And I think this is partly because he knew the responsibility that lay with him. He knew his own past, and he wanted to make sure that he was never, ever going to walk away from the direction that God gave him.
He wasn’t going to be a murderer anymore, and if it meant losing his life, then so be it. And so the point of meditation is, how can I do that? How can I even say that I will absolutely follow God wherever he leads me?
This is a difficult question. If I thought that God was leading me towards suffering and persecution, and all around me, my family, my friends, other Christians were saying, "No don’t go!", would I still go?
God, please continue to work on our hearts because we know we need to be soft towards you. We need to be malleable. We need to be obedient. That’s what you require of us. And whatever you say to us, Lord, we want to do it. Please help us. Please strengthen us. Please give us that resolve to follow you always, no matter what the cost. Amen.
