Day 327: Acts 24:1 - 26:32

I love this part of Paul's story because it is the perfect illustration of the fact that God can take any mess and make something amazing out of it. Paul had been in prison for quite sometime now, and yet his faith not only kept him alive and protected him, but God was able to use Paul's faith to elevate him to a platform that no other believer would have ever been able to preach from. It would have been so easy for Paul to just give up or say that he would tune it down a little just so he could be free, but Paul had his focus on something much bigger than himself. Paul wasn't concerned with his comfort or his "success" or his "ministry." He was focused on God and His will. Our lives are so short and it's so easy to get caught up in our own plans, our own desires, and our own "freedoms," but when we keep our focus on those things, we will never be able to see the enormous path that God has placed right at our feet. I would encourage anyone reading this to consider your current circumstance, and then take yourself out of it completely. Maybe your current circumstance has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with giving God an opportunity to change the world around you. If Paul had only seen himself and his lack of "freedom," he probably would have never even considered the fact that thanks to his situation, he had the biggest platform that any believer could ever ask for.

- God, give me the level of perspective that Paul had while he was in prison. He had every opportunity to feel sorry for himself and focus on his problems, and yet he ignored all of that and used his so-called problems as a platform to preach Your Word. Help me to take myself out of the picture when I consider my current circumstances so that I can fully understand how You can be glorified through them. -