SOAP 02/14/2012; Acts 21:14

Today's reading: Leviticus 23,24; Psalms 24; Acts 21

S)"¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, 'The will of the Lord be done!'"

Acts 21:14 (NASB)

O) In the preceeding verses, some prophets have come to Paul and prophesied that if he goes to Jerusalem, he will be captured and bound. They begin urging him not to go, begging him, even driving Paul to tears because he was heartbroken at their sadness. In the end, though, he was not persuaded. Even though it meant his capture, and possible death, he was prepared to go wherever the Lord was calling him to go. The remarkable thing, here, is that these believers were all in direct opposition to the will of God, despite having heard from God (the prophet was right about him being captured), and despite the most pure of motives. They were so moved by their sadness that they missed the will of God in it and instead they were pleading with him to disobey God, without realizing it. In the end, they ultimately see Paul was right, and the will of the Lord must be done.

A) I need to be careful of letting emotions dictate my obedience. Sometimes, it can be difficult to separate a passion from a God-given calling. God is emotional, capable of anger, joy, compassion, etc., and so He made me (everyone) to be emotional beings. He does not me to become a robotic or stoic follower, devoid of passion or emotion. At the same time, His will is still the best and I cannot trust my emotions alone. I need to be careful about using phrases like, "I have a passion for..." or things like, "I feel peace about..." because my emotions are not supposed to be the cause of my actions. The cause of my actions should be obedience. From there, I can use my emotions as motivation, but only after I'm on the way to doing what God is calling me to do.

P) Father, You are so good to me. Your will is perfect and gracious and trustworthy. Help me use my actions to dictate my emotions and not the other way around. Holy Spirit, speak the will of the Father clearly to me, so that I am not being led by what I feel. Open my eyes to see adn my ears to hear so I do not miss what You want for me. Give me wisdom, so that when I hear from You, I'll know what You mean me to do. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.