Act 21:1-3 | KingComments | STEP | After his impressive speech to the elders of Ephesus, Paul must head on again. The elders won’t let him go just like that. How much they would have loved to keep him with them. Paul and his companions have to part – this is an expression of effort, it implies force, in the sense of tearing themselves away. It indicates what a strong bond Christian affection is. What follows is an ordinary travel account. God is interested in everything His servant does, also in the unspectacular things. In the same way, the Lord Jesus spent most of His life in secret as far as people’s eyes are concerned. All this time He was a pleasure to His Father. We may do the most ordinary things to the glory of God, such as eating and drinking ( ). At the same time, we also see the hand of the Lord in the travel log. We read about ‘finding’ a ship that brings them to the destiny of their journey. Won’t Paul also have been grateful for a favorable wind and a quiet voyage? What will have been going on in the apostle’s mind when they “came in sight of Cyprus”? That too is not said without reason. Will it not have raised in him the memory of Barnabas and Mark ( )? Tyre may also have reminded him of the old days, of the time when the Lord Jesus was there in the neighborhood ( ). The delay there, is as much from the Lord as is finding the ship in . The reason for the delay is a very practical one, because the ship has to unload its cargo. Guidance from the Lord is usually by very natural means. The question is whether we have an eye for it.

‏ Acts 21:1-3

From Miletus to Tyre

After his impressive speech to the elders of Ephesus, Paul must head on again. The elders won’t let him go just like that. How much they would have loved to keep him with them. Paul and his companions have to part – this is an expression of effort, it implies force, in the sense of tearing themselves away. It indicates what a strong bond Christian affection is.

What follows is an ordinary travel account. God is interested in everything His servant does, also in the unspectacular things. In the same way, the Lord Jesus spent most of His life in secret as far as people’s eyes are concerned. All this time He was a pleasure to His Father. We may do the most ordinary things to the glory of God, such as eating and drinking (1Cor 10:31).

At the same time, we also see the hand of the Lord in the travel log. We read about ‘finding’ a ship that brings them to the destiny of their journey. Won’t Paul also have been grateful for a favorable wind and a quiet voyage?

What will have been going on in the apostle’s mind when they “came in sight of Cyprus”? That too is not said without reason. Will it not have raised in him the memory of Barnabas and Mark (Acts 13:4-5 ; Acts 15:39)? Tyre may also have reminded him of the old days, of the time when the Lord Jesus was there in the neighborhood (Mt 15:21).

The delay there, is as much from the Lord as is finding the ship in Acts 21:2. The reason for the delay is a very practical one, because the ship has to unload its cargo. Guidance from the Lord is usually by very natural means. The question is whether we have an eye for it.