Let God Take Care of It
Acts 25:13-22
English Standard
Version (ESV)
13 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king
and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. 14 And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before
the king, saying, (A)“There is a man left prisoner by Felix,15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of
the Jews laid out their case (B)against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 (C)I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give
up anyone (D)before the accused met the accusers face to face and had
opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 17 (E)So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next
day took my seat on(F)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of
such evils as I supposed. 19 Rather
they (G)had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion
and about(H)a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I (I)asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there
regarding them. 21 But (J)when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of (K)the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to
Caesar.” 22 Then (L)Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”
There is one thing for sure,
Romans during this time did not know how to have a speedy trial. Felix had already had a trial and did not
find fault in Paul and now Festus wants to do the same thing. Festus is so new on the scene that he asked
King Agrippa to help him out with the situation. He admits in these passages that he does not
even know what charge he has that make any sense to send it to Rome. But, you know what? God is in control. He has plans for Paul and one of them is to
minister where he is and another is to minister in Rome.
Nothing in these passages makes
sense to us. We may wonder why God didn’t
just let Paul be set free. There were really no charges to hold him on. Two different leaders heard the charges
against him and found that he had no fault yet they continued to hold him to
try to find favor with the Jews.
I find myself in a kind of prison. It makes no sense why I am where I am
vocationally and why I can’t seem to get hired for the position that I am most
qualified for. No bad evaluations, a
passion for the work, a very good track record.
Yet, I am held in a sort of prison away from what I know and enjoy
best. I can become bitter which has
seeped into my thinking. I can feel hurt
which I have. I can ask God why this is
happening, check that one off too. I am
not facing physical death because of it but I am experiencing a death of a
career that I thought I would retire in.
A death of the goals which I set forth to accomplish and worked
extremely hard towards. Yes, in some
ways it is a death of my being. Yet
there is a contrast between Paul and myself.
Nowhere in these passages do I see Paul complain. His defense does not put others down yet
states the facts. When he is questioned in
private he shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
He does not bribe or try to persuade anyone to let him out of
prison. Why? Because Paul knew that God had him just where
He wanted him and he was content with that.
This is something that I struggle with on a daily basis, even though I
am certain that God is in control, I try to be the backseat driver that tells
Him what to do. Who am I kidding, only
myself, to think that I know more than the Almighty God.
As you seek Him today, be assured
that if you are His child, He has a plan for you. A perfect plan, one that none other can
fathom. Trust Him and know that He is in
control.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment