Acts 21:10-14 "Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul's belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, "The Holy Spirit declares, 'So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. But he said, "Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus." When it was clear that we couldn't persuade him, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done.""
Paul was warned that he would suffer if he returned to Jerusalem. The other believers understood the prophecies to be a warning for Paul to not return to Jerusalem - obviously God would warn them to avoid suffering. Paul went anyway. Jesus knew he would be beaten and ultimately crucified when he was praying in the garden, but he went anyway. Why? Why would God let us know of pending suffering if we were not meant to avoid it?
I believe that God sometimes tells us what is coming not only to help us prepare for it, but to reassure us that He is in control. Suffering builds character. There are certain lessons that we can not learn and depths our faith can not reach without suffering.
Sometimes God's warning is like Him putting his hand on our shoulder and telling us, "WE will get through this, I am right here with you." What more do we need?
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