MenuSouth at High Noon
And an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south to the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. And he arose and went.
Acts 8-26-27a
As the summer sun finally befalls us, this passage is a bright gem of Scripture on the Lord’s guidance. Many people who ask, “How can I know God’s will for my life?” are really asking, “How can I find guidance from the Lord for my daily choices and decisions?”
Philip shows us how. It requires receptivity to the Holy Spirit and obedience. Often the guidance we get does not fit with our convenience or preferences.
One key to understanding this passage is that the Greek words for “south to the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” also can mean “at high noon along the road….” The Greek word mesembria can mean middle-day or south. Now Philip already knew that Gaza was south of Jerusalem. He did not need that for guidance. And the Lord’s instruction to go on the sun-baked Gaza road in the desert must have seemed odd.
But Philip obeyed. We don’t always know what the Lord has planned for us in the circumstances into which He places us. In this case, with Philip, the Lord had a meeting planned between Philip and an Ethiopian eunuch. The Lord knew that the officer was on his way home from Jerusalem to Ethiopia on that very road. Traveling at high noon on a desert road apparently was no problem for the African. The Lord wanted Philip at the right place and at the right time to meet him, to explain how Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant was fulfilled in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus, and to baptize and teach him about Christ’s forgiveness of the man’s sins. The eternal salvation of a crucial person – God’s first instrument to bring the Gospel to the African continent – was at stake here.
The Lord often guides us to people and situations we wonder about at the time. Looking back, we can see that He issued a direction that, at the time, was difficult to follow… but that unforeseen blessings flowed from it.
The Lord will use everything available to convince us of a direction—His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, Holy Scripture itself, consecrated thinking about God’s Word, the insights of people (especially baptized Christians) He has placed in our path, signs in the world around us, and finally even our own emotions when they are put at His disposal… when we are open and willing. He will help us to want what He wants for us – to align our will with His.
Just like steering a bicycle, boat or car which is moving, the Lord can steer us when we are on the move for Him. But such guidance is difficult when we are dead stopped… or when we actually set our gearshift into reverse! If that’s your case, don’t be surprised if the Lord sends something or someone your way to get you moving.
Philip “arose and went.” There was no argument. There was no whining about the hour of the day or the weather. Spiritual guidance comes to us when we are open in mind and spirit to God in prayer, open to hearing His Holy Word, open to surrendering ourselves to be used for His purpose, and honest with Him about who we are in relation to Him. From this openness and honesty with God, for the baptized Christian washed with Christ’s forgiveness, flows a sense of the “rightness” of a particular direction – not because it is logical, but because closeness with the Lord has made it the thing we want to do. When an opportunity arises, we are ready, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- Pastor Nickel