Throughout his ministry Paul the Apostle was being hunted by
some nefarious force or another. This time it was by the governor of Damascus,
who went out of his way to capture this most dangerous individual. You don’t
commit time and resources to capture or otherwise destroy an individual if the
individual in question poses no threat to you, your agenda, or your plans.
Paul was dangerous to the status quo. He was dangerous for
the religious leaders of his time, he was dangerous for the political leaders
of his time, because he was effective, and by the power of God and the unction
of the Holy Spirit, he reached otherwise unreachable people.
If you map out the life and ministry of Peter versus Paul,
you begin to see how the demographics of individuals impacted by their
ministries varied wildly. God knows who to send where, who to employ for a
particular calling, and as long as we submit, as long as we acknowledge His
omniscience in the matter, things will turn out for good.
The governor wanted to take no chances, so he locked down the
entire city of Damascene. He knew Paul was somewhere in the city, so he secured
it in its entirety, and in his mind, it was only a matter of time before this
enemy of the state would be captured, and dealt with.
Rather than wait for the authorities to come knocking, and
surrender to them, Paul was lowered in a basket through a window in the city
wall and escaped unscathed.
And this is what I’ve been mulling over this morning. This is
what stood out as I was reading my morning scripture: Paul and the brethren did
everything in their power to make sure he was not captured.
They did not wait patiently for the authorities to come
knocking, they didn't just throw their hands up and say, "it's in God's
hands." They did all that they could to ensure a good outcome, then left
to God that which they could not control.
If, as they were lowering Paul the rope broke, then it was in
God’s hands. It is never specified that Paul asked how often they changed the
rope on the basket, or if it had been tested recently, he got in the basket and
was lowered down by the brethren.
There must always be a balance in our day to day lives,
wherein we do what we must to affect the world around us, but simultaneously
surrender to God that which we know to be outside our sphere of control.
Most days we do the opposite, and it is counterproductive, to
say the least. Most days we attempt to control that which we have no way of
controlling, while failing to do our part, and the things we know are within
our ability to do.
Paul knew he could not control whether or not the rope broke
as they lowered him down, and so he didn’t even bother to inquire. What he
could do, was get in the basket, and with the aid of other believers, be helped
to escape the clutches of the governor.
Getting in the basket is on you. Keeping the rope from
breaking is on God.
Knowing that He is a good Father, knowing that He watches
over His children, and knowing that nothing is impossible for Him, we journey
through this life with hope and purpose, not fear and trepidation.
We know and see with eyes of faith that even if the rope
breaks, He will soften the landing, because the testing of our faith is an
ongoing thing, and the more we grow in Him, the bigger the challenges become.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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