November 20 - Acts 18-20: What Matters Most

What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generous God. (20:24)

Paul had already been through many ups and downs on his missionary journeys - the joys of seeing people receive God's Word as well as persecution for faithfully preaching the Good News. Now he was on his way to Jerusalem, understanding that hard times and imprisonment were ahead of him. He knew that He wasn't going to see his dear friends in Ephesus ever again. It was a sad parting, but Paul set sail because his greatest passion was to do what God had called him to, regardless of personal cost.

When things get difficult for me, when the personal cost feels too high, I'm sorely tempted to retreat and to seek my own comfort above all else. My first inclination isn't to trust God in the midst of the difficulty. I just want things to feel better for me in the moment.

But Paul's life reminds me that it is possible to radically follow the Lord wherever He leads, regardless of the cost to me, if I will allow the Spirit to lead me. Paul never forgot about the "incredibly extravagant generosity of God" and never lost the burning desire to tell others about what Jesus did for them.

Lord, I confess my sinful desire to make life about me. I give into that desire way too often. You continue to remind me that this life is about You, that I'm to die to myself, and in doing so, I will find REAL LIFE. That's what I truly crave, more than my own selfish desires. May I never lose sight of Your incredibly extravagant generosity toward me, and may that spur me on to joyfully tell others about what Jesus has done.