October 12 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The apostle Paul was traveling to Jerusalem. He knew that suffering awaited him there, although he did not know exactly what God had in store for him. "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me" (Acts 20:22-23).

Paul's friends did their utmost to keep him from going to Jerusalem. But it didn't help. They could not persuade him to change his mind. He had to go to Jerusalem because it was God's will.

At last his friends gave up: "The Lord's will be done."

Was that resignation? Was that "saying yes with a sigh"?

Perhaps it was, on the part of Paul's friends. They gave in to the inevitable and gave up when Paul's trip seemed unavoidable.

But for Paul it was an active commitment to do the will of the Lord. His going to Jerusalem, "compelled by the Spirit," strongly reminds us of Paul's Master, Jesus Christ. The friends of Jesus also tried to keep him from going to Jerusalem. Jesus knew exactly what was in store for him: ". . . the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him" (Mark 10:33-34). Jesus traveled to Jerusalem "compelled" by the same Spirit that compelled Paul. In spite of the opposition of his friends, Jesus "resolutely set out for Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51).

Paul follows in the footsteps of Jesus, the disciple learning obedience from the teacher. Like Jesus, he must deny his own desires and do the perfect will of God.

There comes a moment when loving friends must cease their efforts to restrain those who travel by a higher command. That moment comes when it is plain that going is a matter of obedience to God. Then it is proper to say: "The Lord's will be done."

REFLECTIONS

What do you think—when we say "Your will be done," do we usually do so with resignation or with an active commitment to do the will of the Lord?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.