The Lord's Will Be Done

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE LORD’S WILL BE DONE

Acts 21:7-14

7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" 12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done."

NIV

First things first. At  Caesarea, we find Philip, one of the original seven deacons chosen in the early days, when the Apostles decided there was a need for deacons to take care of food distribution, and Philip was one of them. Just like Stephen, Philip did more than wait on tables as we later found him walking along and meeting the Ethiopian eunuch and brought him to Jesus and baptized him, the poof, God whisked him away. Philip must have settled down in Caesarea because he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. What is interesting about this narrative is that it would appear many people are concerned about the welfare of Paul. We noticed earlier others warning him, beseeching him, not to go to Jerusalem for fear of his life. Now Agabus a prophet who came from Judea, once again to warn Paul. This time Agabus showed Paul how things would happen if he went to Jerusalem, and he quoted the Holy Spirit. We would think by now, Paul would have gotten the message and changed his plans, heading back out on the missionary field instead of heading to Jerusalem. But no, not Paul, he knows what he must do. It is not as though this is his plan without consulting with the Lord. Paul has this confidence in the direction of the Lord. He knows, without reservation, that the Lord has plans for him in Jerusalem, even if it means his death, for to Paul, death holds no string, for Jesus already won that battle against death, by his resurrection, and is the first of many. Paul knew and believed in the resurrection, so death was just a step into eternity with Jesus. With Paul’s commitment shown to all who were attempting to persuade him not to go to Jerusalem, they concluded, “The Lord’s will be done.” This is where that should have started in the first place. It always must come down to the Lord’s will be done.   We need to live in this same manner, concerned foremost, that the Lord’s will be done in and through our lives. Many people attempted to alter the course of Paul’s journey to Jerusalem, but he would not permit anyone from interjecting their will over God’s will. It matters not how many people attempt to persuade us to do this or that, including our ministry and our service to the community of faith. If we know what God’s will is, then we must do his will, not ours, and now anyone else’s. It must always be about “The Lord’s will be done.”