Acts 21 Devotional

Into Chains with Open Eyes

“When he would not be dissuaded, we quieted down and said, “The Lord’s will be done.””Acts 21:14 (BSB)

Acts 21 is full of warnings. Disciples in Tyre urge Paul through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem (21:4). In Caesarea, the prophet Agabus ties his own hands and feet with Paul's belt and says the Holy Spirit reveals that Paul will be bound and handed over to the Gentiles (21:11). Paul's friends weep and plead with him. Paul says he is ready to be bound and even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. When he will not be persuaded, they fall quiet and entrust the matter to the Lord's will (21:13-14).

Everything Agabus said comes true. A false assumption sets off a mob in the temple, and Roman soldiers arrive just in time to stop the beating (21:29-32). But nothing here happened behind God's back. The Spirit told of the chains before they were fastened. Paul walks the road his Lord walked before him, for Jesus too set out deliberately for Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). When God's will includes hard things for someone you love, you can let go of them into his hands.

To think about: Where are you struggling to accept God's will for yourself or someone close to you, and what would it look like to entrust it to him?