THURSDAY November 2, 2023

Setting Sail

...And they accompanied him to the ship. Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.
Acts: 20:38; Acts: 21:1-2

The Ephesian elders accompanied Paul to the ship, and as the distance between them grew farther away, the sight of the brethren on the shore grew smaller and smaller––until finally they disappeared (Acts 20:38). Time had moved rapidly in Paul’s life. In a span of 24 years, he had made three missionary journeys, successfully carried the Gospel into Europe, and, in the process, suffered unprecedented opposition and persecution.

As we move forward into the final five years of Paul’s life––right up until the end of Acts 28––this marks the season of his life which will end in persecution and imprisonment at the hands of both Jews and Romans. Paul stood at a crossroads in his career. He would continue to write and complete all fourteen of his Epistles during his lifetime. At God’s appointed time, his life would be taken from him for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul believed in God’s divine providence. He knew the Lord would accomplish His purposes in his life. God was still in control! Paul wrote and firmly believed ...that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). In one of his prison Epistles, Paul wrote: ...the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ... (Philippians 1:12-13).

Leave your life in God’s hands. He will ultimately fulfil His purposes in and through your life, no matter what you have faced in the past, are facing in the present, or will face in the future. Everything will turn out for the best.

God’s purpose for my life is that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion.
~Jonathan Edwards~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!