“Festus conferred with his advisers and then replied, ‘Very well! You have appealed to Caesar, and to Caesar you will go!’”
Acts 25:12 (NLT)
Paul stood in the official Roman court with serious accusations surrounding him, but none of them could be proven. Festus wanted to please people, and the Jewish leaders wanted Paul back in Jerusalem. Paul knew what was really waiting there. He knew their hatred had not gone away, and he knew they intended to kill him. So he appealed to Caesar.
Caesar was the highest earthly authority Paul could appeal to, but Paul’s hope was not really in Caesar. Paul knew God wanted him to go to Rome. He was willing to go as a prisoner if that was the path of obedience. He put the assignment of God above his comfort, above his freedom, above the chains that might remain on him, and even above his life.
We have a choice in the middle of our own trials too. When pressure comes, when fear rises, when we feel lack or pain or uncertainty, we can appeal to lesser things. We can run back to sin, to comfort, to money, to status, to control, or to the approval of people. But none of those things are the highest authority for a believer.
Jesus is the highest authority. He has conquered death, hell, and the grave. If our hope is in Jesus, He will help us here on earth, and He will be where we go when this life ends. If you appeal to God, you will get Him. Today, are you in the middle of something where you need to appeal to God instead of man, yourself, money, or stuff? I pray we appeal to God first, put Him above the things of earth, and place our hope in the destination we have with our Lord and Savior in heaven.