Alan's Devotionals

 

 

This is one of my favorite chapters in the book of Acts. From Paul raising a young man from the dead to his message to the elders from Ephesus, it’s a chapter with some great embedded nuggets of truth.   

   

Paul is just an inspiration to me. Here is a man who was undoubtedly the leading Christian minister of his day and pretty much any other day. And yet his heart for God and his humility, coupled with his courage, are a lesson for us all. Paul was not about building his personal brand. Paul was about building the kingdom of God. He never misused his authority as an apostle for personal gain or privilege. He was focused on his mission, and we see some of that in our verses for today.   

   

Everywhere Paul went, people were telling him not to go to Jerusalem. But he said he was bound in the spirit to go. He sensed an urgency to go despite what people were telling him. The Holy Spirit was testifying to Paul in every city that chains, or being imprisoned, and trouble were waiting for him. How many of us would have been making new travel plans with that type of Holy Spirit warning? But what Paul states in verse twenty-four is classic Paul and an aspirational goal for me.   

   

None of these things move me. None of what things? None of being imprisoned or facing serious trouble moved him. The problems waiting for him were not enough to make him rethink or redirect his plans. Whoa, that is saying a lot. Paul is saying that he knows trouble is coming, but he is unmoved. And then Paul gives us the reason he is not moved. He does not count his life as dear to himself. Paul was not about saving his life; he was about fulfilling his calling. Protecting his image never entered into the picture. Protecting his very life was not a factor either.   

   

How could Paul say this? To Paul, mission mattered most. To finish his race with joy and the ministry that he received from the Lord to share the gospel of the grace of Christ. No wonder God used Paul in such mighty ways. He was the picture of a man fully committed. We used to use the term sold out. Paul was sold out for God and fully committed to completing the mission he had received from the Lord Jesus. The why of Paul going to Jerusalem was bigger than the what that would happen to him.   

   

I believe much of the reason we get wrapped around the axle with so much of life is that we count our lives as dear to ourselves. It’s easy to do. But the more we are consumed with our lives and what happens to us, the more we tend to attract problems.   

   

I heard a true story of a man who was looking for his lost baby during a tsunami in Hawaii. One wave had hit and swept away his infant son. The man went running through the debris looking for his son and finally found him before the next wave hit. When he returned with the boy, his wife noticed that his feet were covered in blood. This father was so focused on finding his son that he was not concentrating on the jagged metal and protruding nails left by the first wave. His why of finding his son was greater than what happened to his feet.  

   

I want to get to the place in life where none of these things move me. If Paul can do that, we can do it. Jesus spoke of not loving our own life, so we know it’s possible. And not only possible but worth the effort.   

   

Lord, please show me how I can get to a place where none of these things move me, and I don’t count my life dear to myself. I know that is a place of great freedom in You.