Circumstances, Shmirckumstances.

Are you controlled by your circumstances? More often than not I am. If things are going well I am happy. If the bills are due, the tires are flat and the cupboards are empty I'm NOT happy. I can be having a great day and then something crummy happens and I'm depressed. I hate it. My mood, my feelings, my circumstances, my downfall. I don't know how Paul did it. Once again in my reading I'm amazed at his consistency in following Christ regardless of what is going on around him.

It happens in chapter 24 of Acts. Paul gets arrested in Jerusalem and taken to Caesarea where he stands trial under Felix. Felix likes listening to him so he keeps Paul under house arrest (he has some freedom but not a lot) until the captain of the guard from Jerusalem can come and fill him in on the details of Paul's arrest. Anyway, a couple verses later we read that Paul was there, in custody for TWO YEARS waiting for this guy!

That would be enough to get me all kinds of upset with God! Paul was doing exactly what God wanted him to do and even while in jail Paul continued to write to the churches to encourage them, he would meet with groups and teach them in the house he was in and over and over he got to meet with Felix and other high-ranking officials to tell them about Christ. One would think God would be happy with Paul! One would think God would want to bless Paul, get him out of jail, set him up in a big house with a fat paycheck and nice car... um, Chariot! Instead, Paul sits in jail for two years and then when Felix is replaced and some dude named Festus comes to power Paul is left in jail as a favor to... the Jews!

So Paul did everything (as near as the text describes) right and still his circumstances were crummy at best. It would have made anyone else "feel" rejected by God and frustrated with doing the right thing and not getting any earthly reward. But it didn't seem to matter to Paul. Remember he's the guy who said, "if I live the name of Christ is honored through my life, if I die, it will be great gain for me to be in the presence of my Savior." Paul didn't care about his circumstances because they changed all the time. He recognized that what was going on around him was not as important as what was happening in and through him as he followed God's plan for his life.

I want to be free from slavery to my circumstances. I want to follow and trust God in spite of what is going on around me. My hope should be in the Lord, who made heaven and earth! My circumstances don't control my emotions or feelings. Nor do are they the determining factor as to whether or not I am doing what God has called me to. They are just circumstances. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad. All the time useful for the Kingdom of God if I allow myself to be used regardless of my circumstances.

Circumstances are NOT indicators of God's favor. Live for the ultimate goal of life eternal, not for the momentary ease of your present situation.