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This proverb reminds me of something I hear said about how news stories often seem designed to distract us from what is important. While I do not quite subscribe to that, it dovetails with this proverb. We need to keep our eyes focused on what is wise. It is important that we not allow ourselves to be distracted by either the “shiny” or the “train wreck”.
When overwhelmed by your troubles, cry out to God. He will tell you which way to turn. You may think that you are surrounded by traps, that no matter which way you go you will be trapped and destroyed. But if you cry out to God and follow the path He shows you you will bypass all of those traps and escape the fate your enemies had in store for you. I will trust in God and call on Him.
When Paul spoke to Barnabas about going back to visit those who had accepted the Gospel on their first mission trip, Barnabas was enthusiastic about doing so. However, Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark with them again, while Paul felt that John Mark had abandoned them on the first trip. I think we see in this another example of Barnabas’ tendency to care for “strays”. In the end, it was Barnabas who revisited the cities they preached at on the first trip.
Paul went in a different direction. It is interesting that not long after starting his mission trip, Paul recognized that Barnabas had a point when he argued for having John Mark accompany them. I, also, believe that this story tells us something about how God often works. Paul and Barnabas had a falling out over John Mark. It was a shame that two such great men could allow that to damage their friendship, even if only for a short time. However, let us look at what came of this falling out. Barnabas took John Mark with him and revisited the cities to which they had gone on the first trip, bringing encouragement and further teaching to those who believed in those cities. John Mark later worked closely with Paul. Paul, on the other hand, set forth on a new mission trip to cities which had not previously heard the Gospel. He took with him Timothy, who later became a leader in the Church. God used their falling out to reach twice as many people as would have been reached if they had not argued, AND gained training for two future leaders of the Church rather than just one.
There are two stories in today’s passage which really convey how God controls what goes on in this world. In the first story, the king of Aram decides to deprive the king of Israel of the support of God’s prophet, Elisha. He sends a large portion of his army to capture Elisha. When the king of Aram’s army arrived, Elisha’s servant was frightened. Elisha was not. Elisha realized that the power of God was more than sufficient to protect from the army of Aram. Elisha told his servant that there were more on their side than on the side of their enemy. As I read this I was reminded of when Elijah fled into the wilderness and proclaimed that he was the last man of God, all the rest had been killed, but God told Elijah that He had reserved 7,000 men who had not bowed down to Baal. Here, Elisha’s servant was overwhelmed with fear when he saw the forces arrayed against them. He did not see, at first, the forces arrayed for their defense.
The second story describes a siege of Samaria. Things have gotten so bad that mothers are eating their own children to survive. Yet, Elisha prophecies that by the following day, not only would the siege be lifted but food would be ridiculously cheap. There was no way that such a thing could happen, and yet it did. This story reminds me of the 1980s. The Soviet Union and its Communism was just something we were going to need to live with. Best case scenario, it would take decades to break their terrible power over the lands they controlled. Then in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union soon followed. Our God is a powerful God and history flows according to His plans and no thers.