October 25, 2011 (Job 16; Acts 21-23)
From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:
Scripture: “I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ Acts 22:18 NLT
Observation: Here we have Paul’s personal account of Jesus telling him to leave Jerusalem because the people there wouldn’t accept his testimony about Jesus. Not only did Jesus tell Paul to leave Jerusalem in the beginning, but the local believers at Tyre, in Syria, prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not return to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit worked through these believers in an effort to reach Paul and prevent him from the suffering he would face in Jerusalem. Yet Paul’s personality as a man of great zeal blinded his eyes and deafened his ears from hearing what the Holy Spirit was speaking. Even though returning to Jerusalem was directly against the instructions that Jesus gave Paul in the beginning, Christ did not forsake Paul. In fact, Jesus showed up in Acts 23:11 to encourage Paul and reassure him that he would indeed preach the Good News in Rome as well.
Application: When God speaks, He says what He means and He means what He says. If He says leave a city or a place, He means leave. Unless He tells you to return, He still means leave. If He tells you to stay away from a certain person or a certain thing, then you should do just that, stay away. Even if several years pass and things appear to be different, unless God says it’s okay to return, then continue to stay away. When the Holy Spirit attempts to reach us through others, we should heed what the Holy Spirit speaks. Who knows, maybe by being obedient to the Holy Spirit we are actually sparing ourselves the agony of great suffering.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this wonderful day. Thank You for Your mercy and grace that provide and protect me every day. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that speaks words of wisdom to lead and guide me throughout this life time. Give me wisdom to know what’s right and the courage to do what’s right, even when it’s hard. Protect me from myself; prevent my zeal to serve You from blinding my eyes or deafening my ears, in Jesus name, Amen!