July 11: Paul didn't know...

1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18

Acts 28:1-31

Psalm 9:1-12

Proverbs 19:1-3

So much uncertainty in the world today, so much of what we took as rock solid and dependable we find is flimsy at best.  Consider: 8 years ago, precious few saw the coming collapse in the US economy; when the US presidential campaigns started, no one expected Bernie Sanders to have such a strong showing; and I can't imagine anyone thought Trump was going to be the Republican nominee.  The polls were showing one thing, but it didn't seem  anyone - not even the head of UKIP, Nigel Farage, expected BREXIT to win.  Or take a different area - when the NBA Finals started this year, more so when Cleveland went down 3-1, nobody expected them to come back, to win 3 in a row, to win game 7 in Oakland.  I don't think anyone expected Micah Johnson to kill 5 police officers; protesting police activity is one thing, but actually shooting officers?  I don't think anyone saw that coming.  We didn't know.

Paul didn't know either.  When he first journeyed to Damascus to persecute Christians, he didn't know he was about to get an offer he would not be able to refuse.  He didn't expect to be persecuted the way he intended to persecute Christians, he didn't expect to be falsely accused, and then thrown in jail.  More recently in our readings, when he set off to see Caesar, he didn't expect to get shipwrecked in Malta, nor to find himself in Publius;s home.  You know who else didn't know?  Publius.  He didn't know Paul was coming, didn't know that among the people he was going to be hospitable to was the man God would use to heal his father.  And the people of Malta didn't know that these bedraggled shipwreck survivors would bring with them the one through whom God would heal the rest of their ills as well.

No one knew.  No one knew that this series of soap opera tragedies would lead to the restoration of health for so many.  No one, that is, except God, Who caused all this to come together.  

Which, if you are anything like me, makes it even more frustrating when we doubt, when we worry, when we fret and fear.  Because today's psalm reminds us that "Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You."  Because we seem to consistently forget that "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble".  And that rather than worry, we are called to "give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; [to] tell of all Your wonderful deeds; [to] be glad and rejoice in You..."

Paul didn't know.  Was he caught up in despair?  It doesn't seem so.  Thank God for his example, and for today's reminder of God's perfect knowledge, perfect love and perfect dominion over all things.  May I - we - remember that, while we may not know what is going to come, we can always trust in Him.