Courageous Obedience

Acts 20:13-24

¹³ Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. ¹⁴ He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus.

¹⁶ Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost. ¹⁷ But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.

¹⁸ When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now ¹⁹ I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. ²¹ I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. ²⁴ But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

Towards the end of this passage, we read that Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem not knowing what would happen to Him there, except that the Holy Spirit warned Him that prison and hardships were waiting for him.

As I was reading this it kind of shook me. Here we see the Spirit of God was compelling Paul to go directly towards extreme hardships.

Doesn’t that kind of mess with our typical impression of how God leads us and our ideas of His perfect plans for our lives? Would I be willing to do what Paul did and obey God anyway, knowing what was ahead?

This is another reminder that following Jesus is not all about my comfort and earthly blessings or a problem-free life. To fully and courageously follow God we are called to lay down our lives for His Kingdom, and that sometimes involves hardships.

I must admit that I fluctuate between sometimes being willing to embrace this courageous obedience to God’s calling, and then at other times wishing for an easier path.

My prayer is that, like Paul, I will make this the unswerving goal of my life…

“I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Written by Shelley Witt