Warning signs

“I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” Acts 20:23
As we know, Paul faced many hardships during his ministry. He told the Corinthians about some of these: imprisonment, floggings, death threats, beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, and dangers while travelling (2 Cor. 11:23-29). He told Timothy to expect persecution for living a godly life (2 Tim. 3:12). Jesus warned us of this also (Mark 10:30, John 16:33, etc.).
Paul was warned about these hardships, through others prophesying to him (e.g. Ananias, Acts 9:15-16, Agabus, Acts 21:10-11) and through the Lord speaking directly to him. As Paul was determined to head to Jerusalem, it was only natural for his companions to see these warnings as signs from God that Paul should not go. But this wasn’t necessarily the case. By this stage in Paul’s life, he was well-attuned to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The warnings were there so that he would be prepared for the mistreatment that he would receive. It was through the uproar that ensued in Jerusalem because of Paul’s preaching to the Jews, that he was able to appear before the governors (Felix and later, Festus), as it had been prophesied to him (Acts 9:15), which led to him appealing to Caesar, and then travelling to Rome (Acts 23:11).
If we are doing the will of God, we will face opposition. Jesus never said that following Him would be easy – rather, we need to be prepared for it to cost us everything. But if we have the mind of Christ, then none of that matters, only doing what God wants, knowing that our true rewards are waiting for us in heaven.