Acts Chapter 13: Verse 1 (NIV)
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
Jeremiah Chapter 29: Verse 11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I think I first noticed this verse in Acts last year when doing last year’s blog but it still caught my attention today and taught me something else. Manaen had been brought up with Herod, and at the end of the last chapter we read of Herod’s sorry end. Manaen seems to me to have been in the same situation as Moses who had been brought up in Pharaoh’s household. There were probably expectations placed on him about how he should live and what he would do. God, however, had His plans for Manaen, and Manaen chose to go God’s way. Like Moses, he left the life he had been brought up in, to become a prophet and teacher in the New Testament Church. His spiritual future was far more secure.
No matter whether its how we are brought up, or in our career or lifestyle, people may have expectations for the way our life is going to go. We may even have our own expectations about how our future will be. We might have it all planned out. But God has His own plans for us and they be completely different from ours. At some point in our lives, we have to make a choice on which way to go. God will not twist our arm. Manaen turned his back on what people’s expectations for him were. But he chose the better way and I’m certain he never regretted it. Sometimes God will bring us to a place where we need to weigh up which direction to go. We just need to compare Herod’s life and Manaen’s to see who made the better decision. And that is the best lesson for us in a similar situation.
Dear Lord,
I know that when we willingly choose Your way, we have made the best choice, and we don’t need to get caught up with anyone else’s expectations for us. Help me always to remember that Your plans are always the best for me. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.