If Paul Had Not Appealed to Caesar

Readings:
II Chronicles 22
Acts 26:24-32

Focus:
Acts 26:32b: "The fellow could have been discharged, if he had not appealed to the emperor."

After Paul has set forth his case before King Agrippa and the procurator Festus, Agrippa and Festus talk it over and agree that he has done nothing worthy of being detained. They concur that they could have let Paul go--except that he has already appealed to the Roman emperor, and therefore he must be sent to Rome for a trial there.

My first reaction is to think, "Oh, how frustrating! If only Paul had not appealed to Caesar! Then he could have been released, and he would not have had to remain imprisoned. He would have been free to undertake more apostolic missions."

But when I think about it more carefully, I realize that this may well have been God's will. It is possible that God had a purpose for Paul to fulfill in Rome, and this was the way for God to get Paul there.

Sometimes when things work out this way for us, when we feel that circumstances may have gotten all messed up, we might stop and think about whether or not God might have wanted it to work out that way.

And even if the seeming mess was not God's will--even if it really is a mess--God can work with it to make it into something good. That's always great to know.