Many people are looking for a purpose in life.  Their search is from a human perspective.

What is God’s perspective?  For the followers of Christ, we are to be witness to God’s cause, for His purposes.

Jerusalem
Paul was in Jerusalem causing quite a stir.  The Jewish leaders wanted Paul… dead.  They grabbed and beat Paul.  The commander of a Roman battalion in Jerusalem, rescued Paul from the out-of-control mob.  Paul asked to be allowed to speak to the mob and permission was granted.  He told about how Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and that was when he became a firm believer in Jesus as his Savior and Lord.  Acts 21:27-40; 22:1-21

After Paul spoke, the mob became unruly and the Roman centurion wanted to have Paul scourged.  Paul asked one question which stopped the centurion in his tracks… “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?”
Acts 22:25

Paul was a prisoner and needed to stand trial, because the Jewish leaders accused him of taking a Gentile into the court of the Temple, which was blasphemy.  From their perspective he needed to stand trial.  His father was a Roman citizen, and as a result, Paul was a Jew who was also a natural born citizen of Rome.  (Note: Paul did not take a Gentile into the court of the Temple.)

The Roman centurion put Paul into the Roman barracks to protect him.

The Lord Jesus appeared to Paul the next night.  Paul was told God’s purpose for him in the next stage of his life.
(NASB) Acts 23:11  “… the Lord stood at his side and said, ‘Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.’”

Caesarea
Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea-by-the-Sea, at night under heavy Roman guard because the Jewish leaders were determined to kill him.  Acts 23:12-30

He was imprisoned in Herod’s Praetorium – another name for this place was the governor’s official residence and was held there for two years.  Acts 24:1-27

During all of this time, God’s purposes for Paul never wavered.

After 2 years Paul was delivered onto a ship sailing for Rome, along with other prisoners.  Acts 27:1

~ Take it to heart ~

‘Lord, what are Your purposes for me, here, where I live?
Lord, whom are You arranging for me to meet and to witness today?’