BE READY ALWAYS TO FOLLOW THE BURDEN OF GOD – Acts 17:16
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Paul was in Athens waiting for Timothy and Silas to come to him from Berea. As he was waiting, Paul saw how the city was given to idolatry. Rather then sit back and just allow the idolatry to continue, Paul took a proactive approach and he began to go into the synagogue and market disputing the falsity of the people’s idolatry. Paul saw that the people in Athens had a need and he was not going to sit by and allow souls be condemned to hell without the truth being first proclaimed.
Paul may have been waiting for help to come, but his burden became so great for this city that he felt he could not wait any longer. Paul’s burden was so great that he began to debate. God used Paul’s debating to cause the Epicureans and the Stoicks to become curious about Paul’s new doctrine. God prepared their hearts and caused them to come to Paul and ask him to share with them the new doctrine.
When Jesus sent his disciples out, he always sent them out in pairs. When Paul was doing his missionary journeys, he followed Jesus’ example by always traveling with someone. However, because the Jews desired to kill him, for a period of time he found himself separated from Timothy and Silas. Paul did not simply sit back and take a vacation, but he saw a need and he allowed God to use him.
Because Paul was living his life thinking upon the things of God, Paul could not enter a town and not see the need in that town to hear the message of Jesus Christ. If Paul were simply living HIS life for himself, the spirit would not have stirred him. Because Paul was willing to be used of God, God spoke to Paul and gave him direction for his life. God had prepared the hearts of the Epicureans and Stoicks so that at the same time Paul had his burden, God opened the door for Paul to speak to them.
When you add virtue to your life, your perspective on life will change. No longer will you be seeking your own will but instead you will be seeking the will of God. As you seek the will of God, God will be able to place a burden upon you. As you follow God’s direction, HE will go before you and make your path straight.
It is important that you place yourself in a position that you can hear God. God has a purpose for you and you must put on the mind of Christ so that you begin to see the world from HIS perspective. If you do not add virtue to your life, you can miss many opportunities to minister unto God. Opportunities that were waiting for you passed you by because you did not have the mind of Christ and were not actively seeking how you might serve the Lord in your life today.
The more you desire to be used of God, the more time you must spend developing a closer relationship with HIM. By adding virtue to your life, your thoughts change because you are now thinking upon the things of God. No longer do you allow yourself to dwell upon dishonest, impure and unjust things, instead, your focus is upon thinking on those things that are praiseworthy to God. By changing your mindset, God is more quickly able to communicate a change in direction for your life.