As we get prepared to step into 2016, the world around us is consumed with New Year’s resolutions, our new goals are established and put into writing along with our commitment and a burden to see them fulfilled. However, within a short time, most of those goals are slighted, left unfulfilled, or abandoned because of our lack of commitment, outside influences, or a hundred other reasons the seem valid at the time.
That’s not the way God planned it!
Paul was convicted and burdened by the Holy Spirit with the desire to go to Rome, and it became a driving compulsion in his life. As we read of his missionary journeys it is constantly evident that he longed to go to Rome to communicate the Gospel at the seat of Roman power. But, even though the burden became heavy at times, he didn’t get out in front of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:21-22 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. 22 So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Here was Paul at the height of his ministry in Ephesus and yet his desire, his driving compulsion, was to go to Rome. To preach the Gospel in Rome was a “longing” in his spirit. He said that he “must” see Rome; dei – it was binding. Paul was bound by the Spirit to go to Rome and he knew and recognized it. It had become his “long-range” goal. What is the Holy Spirit convicting and burdening you with? What desire has He placed in your heart that continues to be a longing that He wants to become your driving compulsion?
That is the key to understanding why Paul did the things that he did, why he went to the places he did. While he had his long-term goal of going to Rome, he nevertheless waited on the leading of the Holy Spirit. And in that waiting the Spirit gave him short-term goals that would continually move him toward Rome to fulfill his purpose; communicating the Gospel. And just as God revealed His goal to Paul, He will reveal His unique goal for each of us. He wants to make our goal very clear because He doesn’t want us drifting from one challenge to another without a clear destination in mind.
Life here on earth passes far too quickly, and we cannot afford to waste it. Without a goal inspired by the Holy Spirit we find it far too easy to become content with where we are; especially where we are enjoying victory at the Lord’s hands. That was where Paul was. Ephesus was a perfect spot for him to settle down and devote his passion for the Gospel to that vast missionary field. He could have easily believed that the success he was having there was the Holy Spirit’s confirmation that he was to remain there. But he didn’t take that tact… he turned to the Holy Spirit for the direction that related to his long-term goal. And while he did he remained in Ephesus, preaching the Gospel; but always ready to move when directed by the Holy Spirit.
That’s a great example for us. While we are holding our goal, our purpose, in our heart, we are to continually seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit for our next step. Our obedience and the Spirit’s guidance will lead us to our “Rome.” And holding onto that is the only way that we will be able to deal with the long delays that seem to continually appear along the way. But if we consider those delays as roadblocks and dismiss them as not being part of God’s strategy for our life, we will only extend the delays.
Paul clearly knew what the Lord had called him to do; it was a burden in his heart that he knew had from the Holy Spirit. And though he felt the strong urgency to go to Rome, he did not allow himself to be rushed. If he had he would not have fulfilled what God had for him in the rest of Acts 19.
There’s a lesson in there for us.
In my life I have seen the Lord clarify the next step I am supposed to take, but then He made me wait until He told me to take it. And He taught me that lesson with what has probably become one of my “life” verses:
Ps 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The Lord has given me my goal, my purpose, and has communicated it to me in many ways. And along the way He has continued to set it before me, increasing the burden I have to see it fulfilled. But at the same time He has had to teach me patience. I remember so well when it finally sank in. I came across this verse one morning and the Lord said:
That’s your problem. You are really good at using My Word to cast a light down the road ahead toward your goal, but you fail to use My Word as a lamp to illuminate where you are at the present. And as a result you are tripping over rocks along the way that is delaying your journey to your goal. And at the same time you are missing the opportunities/challenges along the way that are a necessary part of your journey… to prepare you to achieve your goal.
Our ultimate goal is heaven and our life here on earth is to prepare us to meet the Lord when we get there. But there is a unique purpose for each of us to fulfill along the way. The Lord has given each of us a special assignment and our journey is all about being prepared to complete that assignment. For some of us it may be right in the Ephesus where He has us, or for some it may be a Rome that is yet ahead of us. What we need to remember is that the Lord will deploy us where we are needed as we journey toward the goal He has given us; a goal that “no one else” can fulfill.
Do you know what your Rome is? If you do then you need to pursue that goal in the Word under the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you don’t, you need to stop what you are doing and ask the Lord what your unique purpose in bringing forth His kingdom is. He will make the where and when perfectly clear because, after all, He created you with that plan in mind and He promises that He will fully prepare you to accomplish it. That’s why He has given you the gift of His Holy Spirit, the token of His promise that He is coming back for you.
And our calling, the calling of His bride, is to prepare ourselves for His return. We are to be sewing our wedding dress under the direction and tutelage of the Holy Spirit. And as we move ever closer to our wedding day, we are to spend our time wisely by following the Spirit’s leading. We may well have our Rome in our sight (His light is shining brightly on it), but we can’t ignore our Ephesus (His lamp is illuminating it). We don’t have to search for our Rome. It has already been set before us. Our responsibility is to make sure we are focused on the Rome that the Lord has set before us and that we are taking our directions from the Holy Spirit. And here’s something you can take to the bank.
There is no questioning and therefore no doubting that God will be glorified in answering our prayer for guidance. After all, it’s His desire to give us the desires of our heart… and that most certainly includes our Rome!