In the life of this mighty servant of God who was used by the Spirit for the blessing of all believers spanning over many centuries, but in these portions, the same Spirit recorded, things for our attention, the other side of Paul’s interest. It is not our aim to scrutinize Paul’s actions. We can only dissect in our work how our inherent weaknesses can impede in fulfilling the call of the Lord and bringing glory to His name.
We need to examine anything of our fleshly desires coming in the way of the work of the Lord. (The writer learned firsthand the challenge of persuading his non-Christian community to accept salvation. Despite his zeal to save his kinsmen, he gradually realized that he could not accomplish this on his own and that it was up to the Lord to prepare their hearts in His own time. Even fellow servants of God that the writer knew attempted to do the same but did not achieve significant results. It became apparent that their efforts were motivated by their own interests, despite their genuine intentions.)
It is the grace of the Lord which had covered his servant Paul and still used him mightily to fulfill “that he will be a witness before kings and authorities.” How diligently we need to carry the work of the Lord without blending personal motives. There may be many reasons given which appear justifiable to man, but not all cause edification and not all are endorsed by the Lord.
If our desires, interests, or affinities entwine in the work of the Lord, we will sense in our spirit a restriction rather than liberty. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor 3:17). When we pursue our ways despite the Holy Spirit’s signals, we will eventually land under challenging situations. However, amidst these situations, the Spirit may lead us to taste greater depths of His grace to fulfill His will despite our weaknesses.
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