Acts: God's Plan in God's Time (19:21)
With this verse, Acts makes a shift and the narrative rushes on to Paul’s arrival in Rome. That being said, it is not an easy trip and Paul does not get to his destination in the way he most likely had in mind. Luke tells us that Paul’s plans are inspired by the Holy Spirit and in many ways we see Paul following God’s lead for the rest of the book. He trusts that the (often intense and dangerous) circumstances are all being orchestrated by God to accomplish His purposes. So when he later faces: warnings from fellow believers, accusations from mobs, conspiracies, attempted murder, and a shipwreck, he is at peace knowing that God is getting him to Rome in the best way for God’s plans to be fulfilled.
Oh, and there is one other obstacle that would drive most eager Christians with a vision crazy: time; long periods of time being kept prisoner here and there with nothing happening.
Today we have little patience for God’s plans. We decide we are called to missions and we need to go NOW! We feel a burden for a certain people group or country and if we can’t get there next year we decide it must not have been God’s plan after all.
It is said that: “When God shuts a door, He always opens a window.” Wait a minute!
That may be true but sometimes God has a door He wants you to go through; He just knows that (a) you are not ready yet or (b) the stuff on the other side is not yet ready for you. If a door is shut in your face along the way to the dream God has given you, stop and ask yourself if the timing isn’t just off a bit before you go running off to find an alternative door to run through.
Oh, and there is one other obstacle that would drive most eager Christians with a vision crazy: time; long periods of time being kept prisoner here and there with nothing happening.
Today we have little patience for God’s plans. We decide we are called to missions and we need to go NOW! We feel a burden for a certain people group or country and if we can’t get there next year we decide it must not have been God’s plan after all.
It is said that: “When God shuts a door, He always opens a window.” Wait a minute!
That may be true but sometimes God has a door He wants you to go through; He just knows that (a) you are not ready yet or (b) the stuff on the other side is not yet ready for you. If a door is shut in your face along the way to the dream God has given you, stop and ask yourself if the timing isn’t just off a bit before you go running off to find an alternative door to run through.
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