275 of 365 - Opportunities

​So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Acts 25:23
 
From a Roman prison, Paul is given the opportunity to make his case – make the Gospel case – to King Herod Agrippa II and Bernice (his sister and also his lover according to most historians). Herod Agrippa II, whose father Herod Agrippa I had the apostle James murdered. Herod Agrippa II, whose grandfather, Herod Antipas, had John the Baptist beheaded. Herod Agrippa II, whose great-grandfather, Herod the Great, had all the baby boys in and around Jerusalem killed in an attempt to kill Jesus.

Agrippa and Bernice arrive with “great pomp” to question the prisoner Paul. Isn’t it interesting how from our vantage point we can clearly see the insignificance of the “great pomp” Agrippa was so proud to walk in? Earthy power is fleeting. The great-grandson of the one who tried to kill the infant Jesus is hearing of Jesus the Messiah, and Paul GETS to be the one to deliver it.

Though circumstances look bleak, God is sovereignly working to grant Paul an audience with the most influential Roman and Israelite leaders of the day to share the Gospel.

Steven Cole says, “Often the greatest opportunities for ministry that God gives us come disguised as frustrating or confusing circumstances where we seem to be restricted from reaching our goals. If we view those circumstances from the human perspective, as just so much ‘bad luck,’ we will grumble in discouragement and miss the opportunity for ministry. But if we submit to God’s mighty hand, He can use us in such a way that He alone gets the glory.”

​What a reminder to me that I can grumble and pout about my circumstances and not being where I want or think I should be…or I can press into it, put my head down in prayer and my eyes up to the Master Orchestrator, and with expectation, be used where He has me.
 
Challenge: If you are wrestling with some unfulfilled desires and closed doors, ask God for eyes to see His hand at work. Journal your prayer.