Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”
When we are falsely charged it can go terribly wrong. Yet, God shows His power by intervening, even at that highest forms of power, and we don’t even know it. The above passage is what is happening behind the scenes while the Apostle Paul sits in prison, waiting to be tried on false charges. He is not aware of this conversation between his accusers and the highest official in the land. But, never-the-less, the conversation is taking place and God is directing these non-believing and wicked men to do exactly what God wants them to do. Paul, no doubt, is in prayer about his position and circumstances. Yet, in the background, behind the scenes, God is doing a great work and moving the hearts of his accusers and those who will make judgements about his future. This truly is an example of Solomon’s words:
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
Paul is not to worry about this false acquistaion:
Proverbs 26:2 (NIV 1984)
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
For those who put their trust in God, we can be assured that God is always working, even when we don’t know that He is and we can’t see it. Paul, during this entire discussion, was in chains. Yet, God was, on his behalf, orchestrating something even greater for Paul’s ministry: A chance to proclaim Christ to even higher officials in the land. While many would have thought that Paul was finished and being moved down the ladder of success, he was actually being placed in a higher level of influence because God was working for him behind the scenes. Remember, God is always working behind the scenes.
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