Week 7, Day 3 (Acts 22:30-23:35)

What an encouragement it must have been to Paul that the Lord came to him in v.11 to reassure him that he would go to Rome and that his accusers in Jerusalem would not prevail against him there. We know the end of the story, but in that moment what did Paul know? His deepest desire was to serve his King, to run his race to the end successfully; his eyes were on the prize – God Himself. How satisfying it must have been to know he would make it to Rome and that God in His sovereignty would somehow make provision for finishing his race. And, how difficult it is to embrace Paul’s priority (v. 20:24) of finishing the course of what God has put before us over our own personal well-being!

I can speak from my recent experience in Transnistria. The high temperatures ranged from 95-104 degrees, the hours were long, but our hearts were set on finishing the course set before us. The task seemed impossible to finish. Every aspect of the project from the raw state of the materials available to the minimal tools available to the lack of a clear plan made it seem at first that we couldn’t achieve our expectations. But two things happened both by the amazing sovereignty of God.

First, we discovered the composition of the team was exactly what it needed to be. Each person, in their inherent God given skill and spiritual gifting was spectacularly suited to some aspect of the task at hand. Sometimes it was an obvious skill like Mandy stepping up into the role of project manager and lumber yard logistics specialist… but sometimes it was the quiet resolve of folks like Jamie and Alisha who were unwilling to let the daunting task of sanding and sealing get the best of them and their team. Sometimes it was the reckless abandon of a young man’s zeal to dig a hole for Jesus that made the difference. And sometimes it was the heart willing to say I’m sorry I was just a jerk when I opened my mouth a minute ago, that made it all work. The list is endless of all the things that God provided through nineteen individuals that were somehow able to come together in unity and accomplish an amazing task.

This brings me to the second thing that happened, that is, the amazing and palpable Grace of God. We often talk about God’s Grace as a noun, like an object on the table, but we experienced it as an action verb. It’s not that we weren’t hot in the blazing sun; it’s just that the heat didn’t overwhelm – it wasn’t on the forefront of one’s mind. It’s not that there were no bumps or bruises; it’s just that they didn’t change one’s course of action. The active power of the Grace of God was a palpable reality bringing wisdom and sufficiency and joy in the suffering through the inconveniences of the circumstances to achieve the so desired end result. It is that His Grace sustained us in a way that made the suffering less important, less compelling, and less in the mind’s eye than the joy of accomplishment of His will that was being done and achieving that task set before us.

I am convinced that the joy of the Lord that Paul experienced in achieving each victory, in spite of his suffering and by the Grace of God, sustained him through the course of his ministry. How else could he have continued to walk willingly into town after town, knowing what awaited him there? And how precious that Jesus would grant him such a moment of encouragement… that Paul’s suffering wasn’t the point, but the Jesus’ suffering was… and that He deserves every effort we give, not out of compulsion, but out of love for our savior that gave us his all that he might have us for his very own and that we might have Him – our glorious prize.

-Cari Carothers