February 19, 2009 - Acts 8:26

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’” Acts 8:26.
While Philip was in the Samaritan city, telling all the people he could about Jesus, an angel appeared to him with a message. He was to now journey south to the desert road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. Apparently, the angel didn’t have much more to say, and Philip began to make his way to where he was instructed.
As I sit and ponder this verse, my natural thoughts go toward wondering about the angel – How did Philip know that an angel appeared? How did the angel make himself known to Philip? What did the angel look like? – That kind of thing. In focusing that way, I almost forgot about the message that he brought. I was getting so wrapped up in thoughts about the angel that I wasn’t paying attention to the message. Now, the message given to Philip was not what I would call exciting, unless, of course, you don’t mind going in a completely different direction than you were heading, plus the desert wasn’t necessarily the “hot” spot (no pun intended!) to visit. Actually, what was exciting was that Philip had heard from God and was, now, obediently moving forward with all his heart to complete the task given him.
Question to consider: Do you tend to focus on the messenger, whoever that would be, or the message given? If an angel appeared to you, with a message from God, would I hear more from you about the angel or more about the message, no matter how dull it appears to you? On what is our obedience dependent?
Prayer: Father, thank You so much for Your communication with us in various ways. Help me to hear You and obey Your instructions – whether given by an angel or by any other method You choose. Help me to hear and to obey. Amen.