For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
A sensible person asks themselves, “Is this wise?” about every decision they make. A fool answers the question, “Well, maybe not, but look what I can get if I do this.” A wise person focuses on what is wise, the fool is distracted by glitter and glitz.
The psalmist describes a feeling we have all had at one time or another. Our troubles were so great (or perhaps are right now) that we do not know which way to turn. Every choice we see before us seems to lead to disaster. We have no one we can turn to for help, no one is willing to help us (or, at least it seems that way). When we come to that place, let us cry out to God. If we turn to God and make Him all that we desire, He will show us the way out of our troubles. He will bring into our lives those who are willing and able to give us the assistance we need. But first, we must turn to Him and desire only what He wants us to have.
In this passage, Paul and Barnabas fought over taking John Mark with them on their next trip. We often read this and think what a shame it was that two such men of God had a falling out. What we often fail to realize is that God was working in this falling out. As a result of this disagreement, instead of one missionary journey by two men there were two missionary journeys by four men. Even if Barnabas had gotten his way and Paul and Barnabas had traveled with John Mark, John Mark would have merely been a pupil of the two men. In the actual event, John Mark went with Barnabas as his partner. In addition, if Paul and Barnabas had traveled with John Mark, Paul would almost certainly not have gotten Timothy to join him in his travels.
So, while yes it is a shame that two such great men had a falling out, God’s kingdom was served by the event more than if they had patched things up. Paul and Barnabas each went to separate places to minister, thus doubling the number of people who could be reached. John Mark was raised to a level of greater responsibility at a time when he was ready for that. Timothy began training to be a leader in the Church. Even Silas was taken out of his comfort zone and caused to apply his gifts in ways he would not otherwise have done. We should recognize that sometimes a falling out between two Christians, or two groups of Christians, are a result of God calling them into different directions, paths that they would not otherwise follow.
We have two stories here of how God works in ways that seem impossible until they happen. In the first story, the king of Aram sent an army to capture Elisha. Elisha’s servant was afraid because the king of Aram’s army was much greater than the defenders (or at least the defenders he was aware of). Elisha calmed his servant by showing him the forces of God arrayed on their side. Elisha’s response to the young man is always one which wells within my heart, and is one which we should always remember, “Don’t be afraid! For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Let us never forget those words of comfort.
The other story is about Samaria under siege. Things had gotten so bad that people were resorting to cannibalism. When the king learned of this, he determined to kill Elisha, rejecting Elisha’s call to wait for the Lord’s deliverance. Elisha told the king that by that time the following day, not only would the siege be broken, but food would be ridiculously cheap. One of the king’s officers told Elisha that such a thing was impossible, even for God. Elisha’s prophecy did indeed come true, and the officer who doubted God’s power was trampled by the people going to gather the spoils God had given them. Let us not make the mistake of thinking that anything is impossible for God. In both of these stories, God overwhelmed armies without resorting to force of arms.