“A Jerusalem State of Mind”1
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.”
- Acts 20:22
These are the words of Paul to the elders of the church in Ephesus. Amid warnings of awaiting doom and pleas to change his destination, Paul is resolute. He will go where the Spirit is calling him.
To do what? Testify.
To what personal end? He does not know.
But he knows that he must go. He is compelled.
Paul has a mission, and he is clear about what it is. He is to preach the Good news for both Jew and Gentile. And Paul has a direction. He must go to the very place that resists the Spirit, because it is the very place that needs it. And the rest, he has entrusted to the One whose heart has captured his.
“Paul has joined his body to the Spirit’s burden.”2
If we, like Paul, are participating in KINGDOM WORK, we are in the business of redemption. Of being included in the work of the Spirit to bring the Kingdom of God to the Kingdom of the Earth. This means going into the places where the Spirit is NEEDED, not necessarily where it will be easily or immediately celebrated.
Resistance does not equal a lack of need. Rather, it might be an indicator of it.
Sometimes, as leaders and as humans, we don’t know what awaits us, and we don’t understand why we are compelled. We might even have people around us urging us to step back from what they perceive as threatening.
BUT, the Spirit has a different metric than the flesh.
And if we follow the lead of our God, there’s a promise of collision–the heavenly with the earthly. And it will be spectacular.
What are you “compelled by the Spirit” to do? Where are you compelled to go?
What is your Jerusalem?
Are you lacking some degree of clarity? Are there red flags being waved at you by the human even while the Divine beckons you onward? Are you certain only that opposition and hardship await you?3
You might just be on the right track.
You might just have something in common with Paul.
You might just be a follower of Jesus.
And (*spoiler alert*): the victory, and the victor Himself, awaits.
1 Jennings, W.J., 2017. Acts: A theological commentary on the Bible. Westminster John Knox Press, p. 196.2 Jennings, W.J., 2017. Acts: A theological commentary on the Bible. Westminster John Knox Press, p. 197.
3 Acts 20:23.
