Acts 21:37-40

Remember how yesterday we talked about the power of a well-placed lie? Even the commander had his own assumptions about who Paul was, as we can see here. He had mistaken Paul for an Egyptian revolutionary who had previously led a rebellion. Once again, assumptions had gotten ahead of the facts.

Paul was extremely learned, even in languages, which served him well, allowing him to reach an even broader audience. Nothing we learn is ever wasted in God’s hands. We can see how Paul’s past had actually been preparation for what he was about to experience in the days ahead. His education, knowledge of Scripture, Roman citizenship, understanding of Jewish law and culture, and ability to communicate with different groups of people would all become important tools God would use.

We must be willing to learn from our failures as well as our successes. There is nothing worse than realizing you are ill-prepared for a test when it comes—it makes you wish you had paid more attention when the teacher covered that subject in class! Every experience and situation we face has a lesson attached to it, if we are willing to learn from it.

Sometimes we don't recognize the value of a lesson while we are learning it because we don't yet know where God is taking us. What seems insignificant today may become invaluable tomorrow. David probably didn't realize that protecting sheep from lions and bears was preparing him to stand before Goliath. Moses couldn't have known that his years in Pharaoh's household and then his years tending sheep in the wilderness were preparing him to lead an entire nation out of Egypt. Likewise, Paul could not have known how God would eventually use everything he had learned and experienced.

Will everyone have to go through what Paul went through? Probably not, but we can see how Paul was uniquely qualified for what he was about to face because of his work ethic, personality, courage, and resolve. God had been preparing the man long before Paul fully understood the mission.

Paul found what his life's ambition was all about in Christ and was not going to let it go, no matter the cost. Like a pit bull latched onto a prized bone, Paul was not going to let go of what he had found in Christ. He had spent the first part of his life passionately pursuing what he believed was right, but once Jesus revealed the truth to him, that same passion became completely surrendered to God's purposes.

Perhaps that is one of the lessons for us in Paul's life: God doesn't necessarily discard who we were when He calls us—He redeems it. He takes our education, experiences, personality, strengths, failures, hardships, and even the lessons learned through our mistakes and uses them to prepare us for what lies ahead.

We may not understand why we are walking through something today, but someday we may discover that God was teaching us something we would desperately need tomorrow. So pay attention to the lesson. The test may be coming later.