None of these things move me...

"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. The apostle Paul wrote these word and spoke them as he faced great trial and persecution for the gospel of grace. As I have thought about this verse recently, I have asked the Lord that I might have the heart to say the same, that truly nothing would move me, that I would finish the race well and with joy no matter the circumstances of my life.

As I was praying about this scripture the Lord led me to Job. Here is a man who truly was not moved by life's circumstances. But what is also encouraging is that he did in fact cry out in agony to the Lord, he did question his position, he was discouraged, yet in the end he is reminded of who God is and His faithfulness and responds with, "I know that you can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." Job 42:2

Job was a real man, he lived his life to honor the Lord, when the trials came he struggled, yet he clung to the truth, he clung to the Lord. We read later in Job that ".. the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before." I believe that when Job stopped demanding answers of the Lord and decided to praise Him simply for who He is, God, when he stayed his mind on who God was, the one who gave the ocean it's boundaries, when Job blessed his enemies by praying for his friends, the Lord blessed him and even greater than he had been blessed before.

God is asking us to trust Him and to lay down our lives, that we would not count our lives dear to ourselves. He may ask us to give up our most precious gifts, He may never tell us why, they may never be returned, will we be moved? Will we question the one who put the stars in their place? Who brings the rising and the setting of the sun? Let us chose today to not be moved. May we remain steadfast in Him no matter the circumstances, may we praise Him in our sufferings. May we willingly walk through the doors of faith laid before us, knowing that He is good and His purposes will be accomlished psalm 138:8

In the last part of the verse of Acts 20:24 Paul speaks of testifying to the gospel of God's grace; perhaps the trial you are enduring will be a great testimony of God's grace, drawing many to Himself.