Busy doing the work of the Kingdom

Acts 16:16-24

How is your day going, mine began about 4:40 this morning when I awoke with my stomach trying some new gymnastic move.  My mind began to go places that only lead to fear, so I began to pray and at 5:44 I began this new day.  As I was reading the Scripture listed above my mind went to Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 

As I read about doctor Luke’s account of Paul and Silas they are having the time of their life, they are in Philippi, a Roman colony, staying at the house of Lydia who is a new convert and they are experiencing the Holy Spirit doing a mighty work in and through them.  Then one day as they are going to the place of prayer, they were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and it was a big source of income for her owners as she got paid for fortune-telling.  Shall we let the good doctor tell what happen; “       She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

(Acts 16:17-24 ESV)

A couple of things jumped out at me, this girl with the bad spirit living in her was telling the truth, but she also was aggravating Paul because she did this day after day, so Paul with the authority given to all of us who accept it, commanded in the name of Jesus Christ for the spirit to come out of her.  Now that spirit was a moneymaker for her owners and it was only at the point of lost income that they opposed Paul and Silas.  One other thing we should notice is how quick the crowd who were mostly Gentiles became a mob and joined in on the attack, and the magistrates had them beat with a rod and put into prison.  Now you do not need to read between the lines to understand this was not what either Paul or Silas had planned for the day, they were just busy doing the work of kingdom building, when all kinds of hell broke out, and that takes me back to Isaiah 55:8.  When we are doing the work of our King Jesus, He may arrange something that looks terrible so that you can do the work of His kingdom, in this case Jesus had a Philippian jailer and his family in mind, and He wanted Paul and Silas to introduce them to Him.

So I’m beginning to grasp that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts, and that if I am going to be of value to my King I must be willing to accept a change in my plans, and do it with the right heart attitude.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice