Purpose in Disruption

”After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.”

Acts 18:1-2

Have you ever experienced hardship outside of your control, at no fault of your own, and been left to wonder, “What now? Where do I go from here?”

Have you ever started a sentence with the phrase, “If only…”?

-“If only I hadn’t lost my job…”

-“If only my close family member were still alive…”

-“If only we hadn’t gotten in that accident…”

-“If only we lived in a different place…”

If the answer to either of these questions is “yes”, you are not alone. And the good news is that there is hope offered to your weary, anxious soul.

As we begin Acts 18, we see that Paul is traveling once again and arrives in the city of Corinth. It is there that we meet Aquilla and Priscilla (sometimes called Prisca), victims of religious persecution and displacement.

In AD 49, all Jews were forced to leave their homes in Rome and relocate, most likely due to unrest amongst Christians and Jews in the synagogue. Aquila and Priscilla, being from Italy, were among the throngs whose lives were forever changed as they had no other choice but to resettle in a new place. 

To the reader in 2021, this just looks like a few words on a page as an interlude to Paul’s ministry. But to Aquila and Priscilla, this meant a new country, language, and culture. It no doubt meant many tearful goodbyes as they lost contact with family and friends, probably forever. It meant the loss of hopes and dreams for their future. I can only imagine as they started their new lives, they were asking themselves, “What now?” and mulling over thoughts that began with “If only…”

But God had not forgotten this displaced couple. He had a purpose and plan for them that would impact His Kingdom for all eternity.

When Paul entered Corinth, he met Aquila and Priscilla, and there seems to have been an immediate bond. Having the same trade as tentmakers, the couple opened up their home to Paul, and a friendship and co-partnership in ministry was born. Their home became Paul’s home base in Corinth where he lived, worked, and was refreshed. 

We know that their friendship became an invaluable treasure to Paul. He mentions them 3 different times in his letters to believers and expresses his love and thanks for them as they had “risked their necks for [his] life” (Romans 16:3,4). What a special ministry this godly couple had!

I am reminded of Joseph in Genesis when he declared to his 11 brothers who sold him into slavery, “God sent me before you to preserve life…so it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:5,8).

Yes, the brothers had indeed done wickedly and sent Joseph to Egypt. But Joseph saw through supernatural lenses and knew that it was in actuality his sovereign God who had displaced him in order to save the lives of millions.

In the same way, Aquilla and Priscilla had been forced out of their home and country by a government who sought them unjust harm. But even in their mistreatment, God sovereignly used that trial to bring them to the very city where Paul would need lodging, encouragement, and friendship. 

Yes, they had been treated unfairly. But they were exactly where they needed to be to bring life to Paul and thereby bringing life to any person whom Paul would serve in the future.

What Claudius meant for evil, God meant for good.

God is still working in the same way in your life today. If you have found yourself the victim of hardship outside of your control, be encouraged by Aquilla and Priscilla’s story. Nothing can thwart God’s plan. He is so powerful that He can even use injustice and sin to use you in mighty ways, bring Himself glory, and preserve life. He has not left you without a purpose in the unexpected disruptions of life.

Who knows the lives that you will bless and refresh because of what you have gone through in the past as well as what you are experiencing right now?

And although we may never know on this side of eternity the reasons why we experience suffering, we can know this:

Jesus suffered for you so he could walk with you in the valley. And you are right where He wants you to be.

-Becky Groppel