Acts 23-24 CSB
Several days later, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and listened to him on the subject of faith in Christ Jesus. Now as he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and replied, “Leave for now, but when I have an opportunity I’ll call for you.” At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would offer him money. So he sent for him quite often and conversed with him. After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in prison. (24:24-27)
Life interrupted; that seems to be the theme of this text. You can read the entire book of Acts in a single sitting, and if you are not careful you will think that the events recorded happened very quickly and successively. However, it covers about 30 years of the early formation of the church and the spread of the gospel around the known world. All the years of church planting and missionary endeavor by the apostle Paul had come to a head in Jerusalem after his 3rd missionary journey. Now he has been arrested and is to be taken to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. However, the process of getting to Rome involved plots against his life, multiple defenses before governors and various rulers, and even a shipwreck. It was not a quick journey.
After being arrested in the temple, tried by the Jews and rescued by the Romans, Paul is whisked off to Rome. Yet, he is waylaid in Caesarea by Felix for over two years! He has access to his friends and he can share the gospel from time to time with guards and with the Governor, but for the most part, Paul’s life is just stuck. I think about that and I wonder “Why?” Paul is definitely an important person, God is certainly at work through him, and he has already accomplished a lot by this point in his journey. Yet, for some reason in the sovereignty of God, Paul has this 2-year hiatus on the way to one of the biggest events of his life; standing before Caesar.
Life sometimes gets interrupted. Whether it is due to COVID lockdowns, or some kind of illness, or unforeseen financial circumstances—things don’t always go according to plan. Yet, we have to constantly remind ourselves that God is in control and He is just as much in the interruptions as He is in the progress. Goal-oriented people (like myself) tend to measure success by what is accomplished. However, God measures success by faithfulness. Sometimes that does mean faithfulness in getting things accomplished, but other times that means faithfulness in just trusting Him and abiding in Him during the “interruptions” of life. He is always at work and He accomplishes His will whether we are stuck in prison (or a govt. waiting room 😊) or whether we are finally getting to Rome.
