ACTS 20:19-24 Amplified bible
"Serving the Lord with all humility in tears and in the midst of adversity (affliction and trials) which befell me, due to the plots of the Jews against me. How I did not shrink from telling you anything that was for your benefit and teaching you in public meetings and from house to house....and now, you see I am going to Jerusalem, bound by the Holy Spirit and obligated and compelled by my OWN spirit, not knowing what will befall me there...
BUT none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I finish my course WITH JOY..."
The Apostle Paul was a man who lived what he preached and preached what he lived. To be able to face all that came against him with victory in his spirit and surrender in his heart is something that deserves a second look! How could he stay on mission and full of vision for the task set out for him by Jesus when there just seemed to be a gauntlet of never ending obstacles to endure along the way?
Have you ever felt that way? Felt that if the road would just clear for even one day, you would be able to catch your breath, feel more encouraged and focus more on serving God? I know I have. I'm pretty positive I've actually prayed that prayer word for word! Just asked for a little shift in the winds and a small parting of the waters and then, I could really take some ground. I have learned as I look back over my 35 years of knowing and serving Jesus, that rarely will God clear the way and then use our lives. He more often teaches us to walk with Him AND make progress through the fire!
Paul makes a very profound and declarative statement when he lists off many of the most recent things he has been through only to say, "But NONE of these things MOVE ME!" He was announcing to the Ephesian elders that he was about to go to Jerusalem and most likely would never see them again. He was leading even in the face of his own unknown! Paul would have had every right to be fearful or concerned to say the least about what awaited him on the other side, (imprisonments and sufferings) yet he chose instead to lift the faith of his leaders and of his own spirit in that moment! He said, "Wait, I am not moved!" (I have not changed or been caused to change what I believe or what my opinion of God is, or the fact that I WILL serve him completely!!)
What is important to say here is that Paul never said, "None of these things hurt me!" He was simply not moved! Hurt or not hurt, in imprisonments, shipwrecks, abandonment, sleeplessness, persecutions...NOT moved. We often mistake times where we are "feeling it"(feeling the pain of the journey) for being moved or changed in some way that is not part of the course in God. It is good to remember this distinction as we travel our own roads with God. It will keep us along the way from succumbing underneath the weight of the things we don't understand that are part of our journey.
In my own life, I have had health challenges, financial and job obstacles, friends leave, family struggles and starting over. Maybe as you read this, you have had some of these battles to conquer or maybe today you find yourself in one. Whatever the situation there is an announcement that needs to be made before we can truly see the victory that IS on the way and that it, "None of these things move me!" The devil loses power and we make him pay for every hard place he has caused us when we make this our declaration. It is quite a place to be, immovable. And today, you can be through Jesus Christ. Anchored to Him, our Rock, fortress and our deliverer we can be unmoved!
The final part of the Acts 20 passage above, says "neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I finish my race with JOY." This is where the secret lies, not in just gritting our teeth through the more perilous places on the path, but to actually be so unmoved that the weight of what I should feel, given the circumstances is completely released from my shoulders! Again, this doesn't mean that I haven't felt the pain of something that has happened or that there is an immediate change in my circumstances. It means very simply that there has been a change in me, in my spirit while I wait for the circumstances to match up! This is what releases joy into our lives. That moment of realization when what used to flatten us, no longer has that kind of power in our lives.
This kind of Joy is never based on what is happening around us and whether or not we have something fun to look forward to! It is based on the fact that "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday today and forever.." It fills our hearts in such a way that we really can face a gauntlet of circumstances in the natural and still experience the peace and the joy of knowing that it is Jesus (who doesn't change) that holds our world. This is the secret to life. If you have never experienced or tapped into this kind of joy and stability in your spirit before, you can ask Jesus to help you in this area even today and He will! His desire for his people in the days that lie ahead is that our lives would be marked by stability and joy no matter what is happening around us. We learn this lesson IN the fire, but the fire doesn't last forever! So stay strong, let nothing move you! xx
