Take a moment to read Acts 23:12-24:27 before reading the devotional below.
Recall from yesterday’s post that Paul is in prison awaiting trial for his alleged crimes against the Jewish law. As he is being held, a group of people plot to kill him the next time he is transported to the court. Paul’s nephew gets wind of this plan, alerts authorities and the plot is thwarted. The case has gotten kicked all the way up to the governor, Felix, who hears the arguments from the plaintiffs (the accusing Jewish leaders). They accuse Paul of inciting riots, which from our reading we know do seem to spring up around Paul wherever he goes. Paul defends himself by saying that he is simply following “the Way” and their accusations against him are purely theological.
Felix has heard of Jesus and “the Way,” so he takes some time to consider Paul’s defense. He comes back a few days later with his wife to have a personal sit-down with Paul to hear more about the teachings of Jesus. Paul tells them about Jesus’ message that the law cannot save people since no one can keep it with perfect right living and self-control. Because of this, on the day of judgment Jesus is our only defense. Felix, being very familiar with legal systems, gets pretty freaked out by this message and decides that avoidance of judging Paul’s case is his best strategy. At the end of this nail-biter of a story, all we have is one little sentence to represent a significant amount of time: “two years went by… he left Paul in prison.”
TWO YEARS! If I’m ever waiting for something for two years, it’s going to take up more than a sentence in my memoir… And yet here we have Paul, who has already suffered tremendously, on hold in prison for two years represented by a single sentence. However, there is a key detail in that sentence that reminds us that God was still doing something: Felix sent for Paul “quite often” to have talks with him about Jesus. Paul had the opportunity to preach to the governor personally for two years (with free housing…). God had plans to use Paul and he did not put things on hold for prison. If you feel like you are in a waiting season or in a real or figurative prison, be encouraged. God is using this time for his purposes, and you are not wasting a single moment if you are seeking and following him.