Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 25 before reading the devotional below.
Paul’s prison time takes a turn when a new governor, Festus, takes over for Felix. Paul’s Jewish accusers are ready to pounce — two years has not slowed down their determination to kill Paul. Festus hears the arguments and finds the accusations flimsy at best. Festus asks if Paul is willing to go to Jerusalem so the case can be heard there. Paul’s response is once again a critically strategic move that reflects God’s instructions to him on what his next step should be: go to Rome. Paul uses his Roman citizenship to appeal to the emperor himself, which means a free trip to Rome.
Paul’s case intrigues even higher ranking officials, including King Agrippa and his sister, Bernice. So, just to review, in the past two years, Paul has had a free place to stay (prison might be not so horrible if you have the governor checking in on you regularly), frequent contact with the highest officials, and now a free police escort to the very destination God told him to go. If the word “prison” were not involved, you would call it 100% provision.
God works things out for you when you are on his mission. And why wouldn’t he? If God has something to accomplish, and all the resources to get it done, it wouldn’t make sense for him to make it harder. God is for you, and he has invited you to participate in his mission to save the world. When you are doing that work, God lines up next step after next step and provides in ways that are beyond what you could plan for yourself. So go out there and live the mission, and leave the details to God.