“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road-the desert road-that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out . . .” (Acts 8:26-27)
How do you like that? The angel says “go”, and Philip goes. He doesn’t ask questions, he doesn’t ask for verification that he heard right, he even doesn’t say, “But what about the work I’m doing here in Samaria?” Philip isn’t even given any idea why he is going. He is simply told to go, and he goes. What trust in God Philip must have had! And through his obedience, Philip is able to bring the gospel message into all of Ethiopia!
Earlier in Acts 8, we learn another lesson in trust from Philip. “Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.” (Acts 8:4-6). He is very successful, to the point that the apostles in Jerusalem feel it is important to send in more help! Peter and John are sent to Samaria, and when they arrived, they found out that the people there had not yet received the Holy Spirit. “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:15-17). If I had been Philip, I’m afraid I might have felt just a little bit—well—like they were marching in on my territory and taking over my work! But not Philip. Philip trusted God with his life. He understood that everything was under God’s master plan. He understood that his place in God’s plan was to obey, to be where God wanted him to be, to be doing what God wanted him to be doing, no matter what! He didn’t even desire things to be different. It was just this kind of trust that led him to obey the angel of the Lord when he was told to go down the road to Gaza.
Lord, I want to be a “Philip” today! Lord, I want to be totally free of pride and envy. I want to trust You explicitly, to the point that when you tell me to do something, I will simply do it, without asking questions! Lord, make me to be more like You in the ways I see in Philip today!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org