Picture this. You’re walking through a parking lot, and the Holy Spirit taps you on the shoulder: “See that man in the black limousine? Go walk up to him and talk to him about God.”
Gulp.
Most of us would suddenly remember a very important appointment somewhere else.
But not Philip.
One day, an angel told Philip to head south, down a desert road. No explanation. No itinerary. Just go.
So he went. And on that dusty road, he came across a very important man in a chariot: the treasurer to the Queen of Ethiopia. Think Secretary of the Treasury, complete with a royal entourage.
Then the Spirit said, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
And here is my favorite part of the whole story: “Then Philip ran up to the chariot.”
He didn’t stroll. He didn’t wait for a better time. He didn’t send a memo. He ran.
The Ethiopian official just happened to be reading the prophet Isaiah out loud, so Philip asked a simple question: “Do you understand what you are reading?”
“How can I, unless someone explains it to me?”
That was all the invitation Philip needed. He climbed into the chariot and told the man the good news about Jesus. By the end of the ride, the official spotted some water by the road, stopped the chariot, and was baptized on the spot.
So, what is boldness? It isn’t being loud. It isn’t being pushy. It isn’t having all the right words.
Boldness is simply obedience at a run.
And here’s the secret. You don’t have to know how the conversation will end. You just have to be willing to start it.
So the next time the Spirit taps you on the shoulder, don’t walk. Run.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you for the people You place in my path. Thank-you for giving me the boldness of Philip, so that when You say “go,” I will run. Thank-you for giving me the right words at the right time. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Wikipedia: Philip the Evangelist, Ethiopian eunuch, Isaiah
Look-It Up:
The full story is told in Acts 8:26-40.
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Free Bonus:
Don’t get your Philips mixed up. This Philip is Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men chosen to serve the early church in Acts 6. He is not Philip the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples.
After the baptism, the Spirit “suddenly took Philip away,” and he turned up in the town of Azotus. Talk about express delivery.
Philip later settled in Caesarea, where he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:8-9).