THE WILL OF THE LORD BE DONE!

 

Friday, March 8, 2024

 

THE WILL OF THE LORD BE DONE!

 

Acts 21:10-14

10 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

12 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

 

Who was Agabus?

 

He is mentioned only one other time when he prophesied that there would be a great drought and famine which came to pass under Claudius. It is not clear whether this Jew was a Christian as well but it is clear that he was connected to God’s network of knowledge.

 

Acts 11:28

28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

 

What was the significance of the girdle – or belt?

 

Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem to finish a vow he had made and to worship. There were rumblings of persecution against believers in Christ and it was feared that Paul would be a target. Once a persecutor himself, Paul now is an avid evangelist, and his former friends would certainly want him silenced.

 

As prophets are prone to do, Agabus used symbolic gestures to foretell future events. He took Paul’s girdle, that long belt that held everything in place and used it to tie his own hands and feet. This signified that the owner of the belt would be bound and taken captive. This would have been a tremendous blow to the program of Christ.

 

His friends warned him not to go.

 

Paul’s friends got the message! Do not go down to Jerusalem because you will be taken captive and brought to trial. God was obviously giving a warning that should be heeded…or was He? Could it be simply a forecasting, not of events to be avoided, but of events that were sure to take place? The message was clear but the response to it was not. Should Paul stay, as his friend suggested, or should he go and submit to the prophecy?

 

Paul was determined to go!

 

Paul was ready not only to be bound but to die if necessary. If this was what God wanted, then it was what Paul wanted also. He silenced the argument by saying “the will of the Lord be done.”

 

What about God’s will?

 

I know of nothing in the Christian life so confusing and controversial than discerning the will of God. So much goes into knowing His will that it is easy to misinterpret the signals. First there are our own human opinions and tendencies conditioned by so many things there is not room to include them here. Surely, we think, God’s will would not contradict common sense, otherwise known as the way I see things!

 

Is the will of God always to be thought of as unpleasant? Does God always call us to a life of missions in Africa where we are doomed to be eaten by lions? Must we, dressed in white linen, set our faces against fate, and die with the proper attitude? Could it be that God’s will or plan for us is sometimes something other than martyrdom? Might it even be pleasant and desirable? We are sure that the plan of God is always purposeful!

 

It’s strange isn’t it that we never ascribe pleasant things to God. We simply take them for granted. Cool breezes on bright days are the way things SHOULD be. Insurance companies are clear that earthquakes, floods, high winds, and hail are all “acts of God.”

 

Yet, if being bound and suffering pain should be Paul’s lot, he was determined to follow God’s plan.

 

Dear Lord, we do not know what today will bring forth. We have no Agabus to warn us. Guide us clearly into thy will and give us the courage to comply. AMEN