FREEDOM BY THE OBVIOUS

Acts 25:10-12

Paul answered: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!" After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"

It was the right of every Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar if he thought he was getting an unfair deal judicially. When Paul made his appeal, and following a brief consultation with his staff Festus declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!" I'm sure you can probably visualize Paul's frustration; and just as easily -- Festus' sense of relief.
Paul finally had enough -- after two years of patient waiting, and following a change of political leadership -- nothing had changed. The Jews were still applying pressure, still wanted him in prison or dead, and they were having their way with him. Perhaps worse: Paul's wings had been clipped and his imprisonment was severely restricting his ability to fully serve the Lord. Granted our Lord is all powerful and He can certainly use us even in prison, but He can also use our frustration to release us as well.
Many times we look to the Lord for a miracle when we are in bondage. Remember in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas were in prison, verse 26, "Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose." This followed hours of, "praying and singing hymns to God," while still in chains. My point is the Lord can and will use many different means to free us from our predicaments. Sometimes it will be an outright miracle, but other times it might even be as simple as our own frustration.

How frustrated do you need to be before you do something about your predicament? If Paul continued to wait on another miracle he could have been there a really long time; perhaps the rest of his life. Paul's solution was in his rights as a Roman citizen. Something he had possessed since birth. Look at you own situation, is there a solution right in front of you, perhaps something so obvious and familiar you haven't seen it? I think Paul's birthright as a Roman citizen is just as much a miracle as the earthquake.

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