And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. Acts 21:14
Twice in this chapter we find the apostle Paul urged by the Christians not to go to Jerusalem because of great danger there. In verse 4, we see the saints in Tyre through the Spirit telling Paul not to go. We don’t know exactly what the Spirit told those folks. But we do know what the Christians in Caesarea were told. A man named Agabus used Paul’s belt to demonstrate what would happen to him if he went to Jerusalem. And this was a message to take seriously, because Agabus was well known as a reliable prophet, who had accurately predicted a famine in all the known world some years earlier (Acts 11:28). To both of those Assemblies, the danger at Jerusalem had only one conclusion: Paul should not go there. This was the great apostle Paul, and he was deeply needed by the missionary work and by the Assemblies that he had seen planted. They could not imagine life without him, and it was imperative that he avoid any danger, especially the certain danger foretold by Agabus. It was with the greatest reluctance that they uttered the words of our text: The will of the Lord be done.
Like those early Christians, we often see situations develop in which it seems the will of God could not possibly be moving in that direction. Think of great men and women of God who we have seen die prematurely (or so we think). Don’t we all wish that Peter Orasuk was still among us, for example. But God had other plans, and we have moved on from apparent losses and disasters, and are still carrying on as before. Sometimes we live long enough to see the wisdom of God’s direction, and sometimes we don’t. But God’s will is always best. Consider Paul’s imprisonment and the great blessings that eventually came from it. As far as God was concerned, Paul had already travelled his last missionary route and planted his last Assembly, and there were other, different exploits that God needed him for. In the coming years, Paul in chains was privileged to speak to kings and rulers and many others, with untold blessing at the time and in the centuries since as the record of those audiences has been retold. While in prison, Paul wrote many of his epistles, because he had the time to do so. And his prison experiences provide invaluable wisdom and comfort to us today. God’s will was done and it was for the very best.
What is our reaction when we see things happening that we can’t understand and that we fear will cause great harm to us and to other Christians? We may not like what is happening, but if we know that these events are under the direction of God, we can leave them with Him. If they are the result of our own foolishness and sin, that is a different story. But if our conscience is clear, we can submit to accepting the will of God. Eventually, it will all work out for the best. Meantime, we will be happier if we accept it all as from His hand. – Jim MacIntosh