The first several times I read this chapter, I somehow skipped over that verse. When I finally noticed it, I was confused, and honestly, pretty frustrated. If the believers were speaking through the Holy Spirit, and they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem, why did he go?
I started digging. I read online commentaries. I texted my cousin who went to seminary. I asked friends if they were familiar with the passage. The commentaries were split, some suggesting Paul disobeyed the Spirit, others arguing that he did not. My friends weren’t as unsettled as I was. They assumed there must be a reasonable explanation, but I needed clarity.
My cousin pointed me back to Acts 20:22-23:
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.”
That passage makes it clear, Paul believed he was compelled by the Spirit to go. Then there’s Agabus in Acts 21:11, who bound his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt and declared that the Holy Spirit said Paul would be bound in Jerusalem. Agabus didn’t tell Paul not to go; he simply confirmed what would happen.
With all of that context, I’ve come to believe Paul was not walking in disobedience. He was walking in obedience, fully aware of the suffering that awaited him.
As important as that theological question is, the deeper lesson for me wasn’t about Paul. It was about my own obedience. God used my frustration to draw me deeper. He took me from wanting to throw my iPad across the room to opening up conversations with Him and with others. I talked with my cousin about Scripture in a way we never have. I realized how much I crave those conversations and how deeply I desire to understand God’s Word.
This week, I had a deadline to write these devotionals. That forced me to dig in. But on a normal week, it will require discipline and sacrifice. It may mean waking up earlier. Going to bed earlier. Turning off the show. Choosing the Word over comfort.
In Jeremiah 29:13, the Lord says: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Finding God sounds worth every sacrifice.
Obedience isn’t just about going where God sends us, like Paul going to Jerusalem. Sometimes obedience looks like staying up a little later to wrestle with a passage. Waking up earlier to pray. Reaching out to someone to ask hard questions. Seeking until understanding comes. And in that seeking, we find Him.