All kinds of life events could fall into that category: a devastating accident; a debilitating illness or handicap; divorce or death of a spouse; losing your job or facing unjust opposition that sabotages your ministry calling and makes you feel that you've been robbed of your destiny...
In the apostle Paul's case, it was the opposition and unfounded accusations of jealous Jews that put an end to his ministry as a travelling missionary and church planter. Suddenly this man, an anointed preacher and discipler, found himself in prison, at the mercy of a whole series of weak and indecisive authorities. One of those rulers was the Roman governor, Felix (see post of 24th April), who kept Paul in prison for two years, even though he knew him to be innocent of the crimes he was accused of.
Felix was succeeded by another governor, Festus (see Acts chapter 25) who also realised that there were no grounds, no proof, for the charges being brought against Paul. But, like Pontius Pilate before him, he didn't want to risk displeasing the people... and so, instead of proclaiming Paul innocent and setting him free, he began to think of sending him back to Jerusalem to stand trial there. Paul knew that this would mean his death (that there were plans to ambush and kill him along the road) and so he appealed to the emperor. This meant that he would need to be sent to Rome, to appear before Caesar.
All of this happened sometime between 41 - 44 AD. We know this because Festus has Paul also share his testimony with Herod Agrippa, and those were years when King Agrippa reigned in Judaea. If we consider that Paul's second letter to Timothy, where he speaks of his impending death, is thought to have been written in the mid 60s, it means that Paul was kept captive for at least 20 years. His long imprisonment marked the end of his ministry calling as a missionary and church planter. In fact, this might mean that only about half of Paul's ministry life was spent as a preacher and missionary, and the other half was spent in prison. What a devastating end to a promising and fruitful missionary career!
Or was it?
Paul's situation is an example of the fact that, even if there are no tangible/provable accusations against us, the enemy can sometimes still find ways to cast doubt on our character and put an end to the ministry trajectory we were on. We can't let that make us throw in the towel and think that all is lost. Similarly if an accident or illness places limitations upon us and makes it seem impossible for us to continue with the things we felt God was calling us to do; we can't make the mistake of thinking that our life and our destiny are over. Rather we need to find out how God plans to redeem things, so that we can engage wholeheartedly with what He has for us instead.
In Paul's case, his imprisonment at this stage probably saved his life... and it opened up decades of "prison ministry" during which he shared the gospel with those around him, including rulers and authority figures in the world at that time. He also wrote letters to the believers in the young churches, letters that form much of the New Testament as we know it today and that are still used to equip disciples in the 21st Century.
It's always hard to come to terms with a ministry death or detour, especially one that doesn't seem to be part of God's will for us.* But we must always remember that God is bigger and that He is never defeated. He is able to take life's blows and turn them into blessings. He is able to take life's detours and turn them into destinies.
* "Wait a minute," you might say. "Can things happen are are not part of God's will for us?"
More about that in the post below.
