Have
you ever had a time when you felt God led you in a certain direction and then
it didn’t go at all the way you thought?
I
wonder if Paul ever felt like that. He was arrested by the Jews and appealed to
Caesar, but that just led to trials before various governors and kings. He
faithfully shared the truth about God, but it didn’t seem to make a difference
in the lives of the listeners.
Acts 26:29-32 29 Paul
replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are
listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”
30 The king
rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 After
they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing
anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”
32 Agrippa
said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed
to Caesar.”
Paul
was passed around and never released. I wonder if he ever second guessed being
led to appeal to Caesar. I think I would have felt led to a dead-end!
I’ve
certainly felt led to a dead-end several times in my life. One big situation
was over a decade ago. When we were studying the book of Isaiah, I felt led by
God to look into adopting orphans. We did various research on orphans and adoption
and eventually were led to consider foster children. God even provided a
weekend foster conference nearby the one weekend we could attend! Afterwards,
we registered for foster parent orientation. However, we were literally locked
out of the orientation class! We couldn’t even get rescheduled for the next
month, because they weren’t having one. It was very confusing. In hindsight,
God was preparing our hearts, but it sure felt like a dead-end at the time.
We
can follow God’s lead, even if it seems to end at a dead-end. He sees the big
picture. His purposes and ways are best. His timing is always perfect.
Isaiah
55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Alice
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