Set Back?
So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him. Acts 24:23
I bought my grandson a diecast pull back car. You know, the kind of toy car that you pull backwards on the wheels, then let it go speeding across the floor? It took him a little while to figure it out because he is only 2 years old, but in no time, he was pulling it back and chasing it as it zoomed ahead of him. As I watched him playing with the car, I found it interesting that in pulling the car backwards, he was actually setting up the car to move faster than it could if he just pushed it forward. The backward motion was actually a momentum setter to propel the car into the next room.
I thought about how that is often the case when we feel like we are experiencing a set back in life. Many times, especially in my walk with God, I have felt like I was gaining ground and finally moving ahead and away from my past when I would once again miss it in some area of life and feel like I lost everything I had worked so hard to gain. Many times, I felt like I was taking one step forward only to take three steps back.
In today’s reading, it looks like the apostle Paul is once again experiencing a setback. He had a hearing before the magistrate, but after it was all over, Felix decided to wait for yet another witness before deciding his verdict. Even though I am sure it was very disappointing at first, I love the fact that Paul was given liberty, and his friends were able to come and stay with him in the palace. This seemingly setback actually turned into a time of rest for Paul’s team. So much so that as I mentioned before, he began writing letters to all the churches and we still have the words he wrote, today. This “set back” was actually setting Paul up to have a ministry way beyond him and his time in the world. This time created the momentum needed to propel his ministry through time to 2000 years later.
What about you today? Do you feel like you are experiencing a setback in your life? Have you missed it or have things not worked out the way you planned that they would to this point in time? Commit all these things to the Lord and He can turn them into a set up for what He has next for you to accomplish in this world. Trust that even though you feel you are being pulled backward, He is ready to propel you forward into the purpose you were created for.
Today I want to encourage you if you are living in a setback time. Commit whatever it is into His hands and exchange that setback for His set up. He has a plan, and He is ready to propel you into that plan. Get it sync with His momentum today by committing all your ways to Him. Then continue to do that every time it looks like you have missed it again. As you do this consistently, it will not take long at all for your set backs to become a forward motion that will propel you into all the things that He has planned for you.
Today’s scripture reading: Acts 24:22-27
22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”
23 So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.
24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”
26 Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.
27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.
The Daily Dose 