Have
you ever been in a great place, doing great things when the Spirit of the Lord
directs you to be somewhere else? I know I have...and many times, I must admit,
I went kicking and screaming, if I went at all. Yes, when things are going well
and we have peace and prosperity working for us, it is really hard to listen
and obey the call of the Spirit....however, sometimes the Lord needs us to take
the road that leads to the desert so His will can be accomplished.
Take
for example, Philip, who was in the midst of a great revival in a city in
Samaria; people were being healed, demons cast out and the "crowds were paying attention to what Philip said." Acts
8:6...but in verse 26 we read, "An
angel of the Lord spoke to Philip ,'Get up and go south to the road that goes
down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is the
desert road." (my emphasis)
I am
sure that Philip must have questioned this revelation from the Lord; after all,
things were going REALLY well in the city in which he was preaching and many
were coming to know about Jesus. But God's vision allowed Him to see what
Philip could not see and to know that Philip's presence was required in the
desert. To Philip, this must have seemed to be a very strange request, but the
next verse says, "So he got up and
went." And when you read the rest of this passage you see a few other
great clarifiers of how God works in His mysterious ways...for who should be
traveling that road but a Ethiopian eunuch, the man in charge of Queen
Candace's entire treasury...a man who had the Queen's trust and her ear.
Philip
heard the man reading from Isaiah, and after the invitation to join him in His
chariot, Philip disclosed the mysteries of the Scriptures and lead the man to
receive the Good News about Jesus. But, one of my favorite parts of the story
happened next, "As they were
traveling down the road in the desert
(my addition), they came to some water.
The eunuch said, 'Look there's water. What would keep me from being baptized?
So he ordered the chariot to stop and both Philip and the eunuch went down into
the water, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord carried Philip away, and
the eunuch did not see him any longer, but went on his way rejoicing."
Acts 8:36-39
Several
wonderful things happened in the story. First, although the command from the
angel must have surely mystified Philip, he did what he was suppose to do and
left the comforts of where he was and headed for the desert. Many times, God
will ask the same of us...get up; leave your comfort zone and go to someone
that needs to know about Jesus...even if that place is in the middle of a
desert...and if we are like Philip, we will do as he did and get up and
go...even if we can't possible know the outcome of our obedience.
Secondly,
God made sure that EVERYTHING Philip would need to lead this man to the
life-saving knowledge of Jesus Christ was there....even water deep enough for a
baptism in the middle of the desert. God made sure that the Scripture that the
eunuch was reading when Philip joined him in the chariot was just the RIGHT
scripture for Philip to share the Good News of Jesus. Yes, God was truly
prepared for this encounter...He just needed a willing Philip!
And
last but not least in this encounter; when Philip had done all that God had
laid before him, His Spirit whisked him from the desert and placed back in
another mission field; where he could once again travel and preach the Gospel
to all who would listen...back to life in the normal.
Maybe,
God is calling you to "take the desert road" today and go where only
you can do what God has set before you... It sure seems true in this story of
Philip. God was ready to save the eunuch so he could share with the Queen and
all of his countrymen. In fact, even today, over 60 % of those who profess
faith in the country of Ethiopia are Christians....and this all started due to
the obedience of one man who was willing to take the desert road and trust in
the God he served....
R U a
Willing Philip....If not, it's never too late to be obedient and say yes to
serving our great God!
WPQ
Poem
for the day...
Your life may be too comfortable
As you serve the King of Kings..
Your truly in your comfort zone
As you manage all your
"things."
But God is truly looking
For those who will obey,
And seek to serve Him willingly;
To follow Him each day.
To listen for that still, small
voice
To tell us where to go...
To be ready to tell others
Of the Savior that we know.
So if you want to serve the Lord
No matter how great life's
load...
When He calls just be obedient
And take the desert road!
WPQ © October
2018
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