The Healing Jesus: An Advent Devotional to Encourage Anybody and EverybodySample

PRISCILLA: THE ONE WHO MOVED

Hello, I'm Priscilla, a humble teacher and missionary of Jesus. I can't discuss my journey following Jesus without including my husband, Aquila. It all started when Emperor Claudius commanded all Jews to leave Italy. It wasn't easy to start all over in Corinth. We felt alone and homesick. But we made tents together, working as we always have. Life began returning to normal. But God had other plans for us.

Everything changed when Aquila met a missionary named Paul. He stayed with us, working on tents and teaching in the synagogue every Sabbath. Even though I am a Jew myself, I was disappointed with our people. The Jews wouldn't listen to Paul. When they became abusive and tried to accuse him of a crime, Paul had to change his focus to the Gentiles alone. Soon, other missionaries showed up, which gave Paul more time to focus on his ministry.

After a year and a half, Paul wanted to head out on another missionary journey. He invited us to come along, but I was hesitant. We had just gotten settled after the big move from Rome. Should we give up our stability?

We trusted in God and believed in Paul's mission. Aquila and I went with Paul on his missionary journey and ended up in Ephesus. But when Paul was ready to move on, we felt God keeping us there. Although we didn't continue the journey with Paul, we were thankful we could help him get that far. But what did God want us to do in Ephesus?

We soon learned why we should stay after meeting a new Christian named Apollos. Boy, could he preach! His passion, knowledge, and boldness were a blessing to those Christians. But Apollos only knew about John's baptism; there was so much more to share with us. We invited him to our home and explained Jesus's life, teachings, and miracles. It was an honor to be used by God in this way. If we hadn't moved, we would never have been able to teach Apollos.

Life has many unexpected situations. Through them all, God is faithful and will place you exactly where you need to be.

Jesus is healing in challenging transitions.

Questions for Talk it Over:

1. Where was Priscilla, the Jewish woman, from?

2. What is a challenging transition you have walked through?

3. How did Jesus show up for you during that move?