Tests done! Back to real life ;-)
A general impression I have been getting for the last few chapters is that Paul sure has some rotten luck. Everywhere he goes, he either has a mob chasing after him, being thrown into jail, or people conspiring to kill him. Even in this chapter, Paul was imprisoned and Felix tried to extort him. Even when Felix was getting replaced, Paul was still left in there. It's amazing that he survived as long as he did! What always got to me was that Paul is actually serving the Lord. This was still during the foundational years of the church. He was going around, doing the amazing work of spreading the gospel and planting churches throughout Asia Minor (aka Turkey) and Europe. Why is God letting him suffer so much? I know that for myself, whenever I follow the Lord, I expect Him to bless me. In my mind, I think: "Lord, I'm doing this for you. And as it is written: if God is for us, who can be against us?" I am submitting to the Lord's will and His way is best, right? Therefore, the logical conclusion is that He'll make everything go smoothly. But far too often, it doesn't. Every time, something goes wrong be it nonstop rain during a camping retreat, the speaker for the conference getting stuck in Virginia due to snow, or I getting a worse MCAT score than expected. The truth is God didn't promise sunny days or blue skies everyday. After all, it rains on both the righteous and the wicked. What He did promise was His strength and His peace to carry us through. It's much better to be happy and at peace in the rain, than stressed and worried during a gorgeous day. Every time I do submit to the Lord, even if problem arise at first, in the end, He always comes through. Always. Blessed be His name!
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