Overcoming The Stuck Places Series

What are the characteristics of the Apostle Paul that gave him the freedom from being “stopped” and “stuck” in these circumstances? What are the resources he had that we can develop in our lives as Christ’s followers?

First, I suggest that Paul had a “Decided Heart.”

This phrase comes from the book, “The Traveler’s Gift,” by Andy Andrews. In his seven characteristics of a successful life, this is the central one, number four of seven. The “Decided Heart” is not concerned with “I might, I ought or I can’t.” Perhaps the youth chorus, “I have decided to follow Jesus” says it best, “No turning back.”

In his novel, “The Mended Heart,” Andy Andrews describes two people thrown together by chance. The girl was a recent widow of World War II who came to the gulf coast to care for her dying aunt and to nurse her own broken heart. The man was a German soldier from a submarine that invaded the Gulf of Mexico to sink ships carrying supplies to soldiers in Europe. He had been wounded, swam ashore by night and lay dying on the beach. She discovered him and hated him because his people had killed her young husband. The story brings the two together to marry. In his research of the story, Andy Andrews had consulted an older couple in his church for facts on the case. Later he discovered that this older couple was the two characters in this story. Their hearts mended by their love of each other and the “Decided Heart” is developed by the hard circumstances of life and their decision to forgive that either make or break any of us.

A second resource that enables Paul to be the victor over these obstacles is his God-given mission. When he met God on the Damascus Road, God told Paul he was to be “missionary to the Gentiles, kings and all Israel.” Such a calling is a powerful force in life. It is a fact that all of us have a calling, a mission for life. The business principle may fit here, “begin with the end in mind.” We may not know, as Paul did not know, exactly how the end will be but when we begin with His mission as ours, the end will be good. The Taylor family, living in England in the early 1800’s, had two sons. The older son became a lawyer, a member of parliament and gained prestige. The second son, Hudson, felt his mission in life was to be a missionary to China. He made a covenant with God, sailed to China and went into the inland where missionaries had never been. He learned the language, dressed like the people, ate their food and lived among them. His most prominent characteristic was “unreserved commitment.” The first son’s name is never mentioned. He is always described as “a brother to Hudson Taylor.” There is power in our mission for life.

A third characteristic of Paul and others who have a “decided heart” and do life with their mission in mind, is that they accept life as God directs them. A life directed by God has movement and meaning. It may not be the plans we want, the circumstances or the results that we would chose, but it is a life lived for God.