Daily Devotional for Tuesday, April 11

Paul in Ptolemais

“And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day,” Acts 21:7.

Objectives are important. Businesses have what is called strategic objectives. Military units have an objective, as in “take that hill.” Racers have an objective, and that is the finish line. Sometimes an objective is as mundane as simply finishing a workday and going home. Humans by nature seem to be objective oriented. This is really a good thing. Without objectives, most of us would just randomly exist, and nothing would ever be accomplished. The thing about objectives is that we have to focus on them and not get pulled sideways by distractions. Once we start chasing distractions, we lose sight of our objective. Finally, sometimes it takes effort to reach our objective. Sometimes it is just easier to chase a few distractions.
The fact that Paul was in Ptolemais seems almost a side note because he was only there a day. Paul was a man on the move. Paul was headed to Jerusalem, as that is where the Holy Spirit had called him to go. Acts 21 reveals two occasions where Paul was warned that going to Jerusalem was ultimately not going to end well for him. Looking back, we know this is true, as Paul was ultimately executed in Rome. Yet, despite these warnings, Paul kept right on moving, and Ptolemais was just a temporary stop. Paul was striving to reach his Spirit-led objective, despite the fact that he knew this was going to be dangerous.
You need that sort of focus in your own spiritual journey as well. The Holy Spirit has called you to something, and it may be a difficult something. It is important that you keep your eyes on the prize and move forward to meet God’s plan for your life.

THOUGHT: When we get too focused on the things of this earth, we bog down spiritually. Only by focusing ahead on spiritual things
can we keep moving spiritually.

Wally Fry