Acts 21: Not My Will

While Paul and his companions were on their way to Jerusalem, a prophet named Agabus approached and prophesied that Paul would be arrested by the Jews when he reached Jerusalem. Upon hearing this frightening word, Paul's friends begged him not to go on to Jerusalem. I know if I was with them and I heard that prophesy, I wouldn't doubt that I would be pleading with them. But listen to what Paul says.

"'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.' When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, 'The Lord's will be done.'"
Acts 21:13-14 [NIV]

Paul's unshakable willingness here is certainly convicting. I can imagine the temptation to just turn around and head the other way would be MORE than a strong one. Self-preservation was the last thing on Paul's mind. This is because Paul's calling was to unceasingly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. You see, self-preservation in the sense I am talking about is not only a life-and-death idea. We act out self-preservation on a constant basis. We grasp at everything that we believe is rightfully ours. Here's the problem: nothing is rightfully ours. Rather, everything is given to us by God. Beware of the view that if we pray hard enough, or act good enough, then we are entitled to some sort of material blessing. When we subscribe to this thought, pray hard, are faithful, and the blessings DON'T come, then that whole idea has no leg to stand on. Hebrews 11 mentions plenty of the most faithful people in the Bible, and many of them were poor, and some of them were killed. If there was anything that the great faithful men of God in the Bible had in common, it was NOT wealth. Accumulating material wealth does nothing for the gospel of Jesus Christ unless you are willing to give it away. So if God does bless us (and He does), Great! But it is certainly not because we did something to deserve it.

But wait, doesn't the Bible talk about Jesus coming so that we may live abundantly? Absolutely. But our idea of abundance is the 'grasping' for materials that I spoke of earlier. This is reaaalllyy misguided. True abundant living is not about self-preservation, being wealthy, or doing exactly what we want. It is about living in the peace and love of God DESPITE the trials and unfortunate things of this corrupt world. So we need to be careful about the mindset of "getting what we want", and adopt Paul's mindset (the true mindset of the gospel): the "giving of ourselves." Loving God is the greatest privilege or blessing we can ever gain. That is why Paul was willing to give away his very life in order to preach the gospel. No money, no job promotion, no new car, not even earthly life itself is worth forsaking the true blessing of loving God and spreading His message. Not my will but Yours, O God. Not my will.

~ Ben