PURPOSE!
In Acts 23:11 we hear God speak to Paul about his purpose. God has illuminated Paul's ministry path (literally) from the beginning. Each step of the way, God instructs Paul. Here we read that Paul will preach in Rome. So having that before him, he must have confidence that whatever stands in his way will be knocked out if it is to keep him from Rome.
In my Bible reading this past year, when I got to a particular story and road block in Acts 28, I took great pause as this confident purpose and focus connected with my own life.
You see Paul, who had just been shipwrecked, had not only helped everyone get to shore with the assurance that all would live, but as they sat near a campfire, he shook off a venomous snake after it bit his arm. Those around him questioned if he was a god, but Paul was sure to point to the Savior, as the true God and source of healing and power.
What caused me to pause, was Paul's response to the snake.
He didn't acknowledge it.
He didn't ask for prayer or yell for help.
He didn't check to see if there was a doctor nearby.
He just ignored it and kept going.
If you know anything about Paul, you know he didn't die of old age after a long, fulfilled life. He was martyred for his faith. This was a man who looked death in the face and knew it was on the horizon (2 Timothy 4:6-8). So it wasn't that nothing every stopped him. It was his purpose instead that determined his response.
We often don't know how to react to the roadblocks and enemies that come after us because we lack purpose. We drift through life with the average American existence and lack any true direction. Our world (and I believe ultimately, Satan) keeps us from having this focus with the many distractions we encounter every day. Its the greatest way to defeat us. Without a singular purpose and focus we are drifting and often trapped in the midst of hardships that should hold no power over us.
Paul wasn't the only one with focus.
In "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Dr. Robert E Coleman, we get another example of a man of purpose. That is of course, Jesus. I love what Dr. Coleman says (page 19) when discussing Jesus' purpose:
"Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of his goal. That is why it is so important to observe the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve his objective."
"He had confidence in the future precisely because he lived according to that plan in the present. There was nothing haphazard about his life - no wasted energy, not an idle word. He was on a business for God (Luke 2:49). He lived, he died, and he rose again according to schedule."
I love it!
Death wasn't the enemy, it was the avenue for life. God, in the form of Jesus, died for us so that we might live (John 3:16).
I've heard stories of people coming to know Jesus because they were in a specific hospital that missionaries came to visit. Their sickness brought them before God and in the end saved their life!
Before you can face any mountain in life, you must know your purpose so you can know if you are to conquer it or die on it. Don't waste time by trying to conquer what you weren't meant to conquer or die on a mountain that you were destined to overcome.
Are you standing with me at a place ready to find deeper purpose?
I am standing before God readying my heart to hear more about that purpose so I may know my response to each issue along the way.
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