Good
Morning Friends,
Like
most of us, I don’t enjoy confrontation. When a situation arises in which it
seems like confrontation is necessary, I tend to put it off and hope to avoid
it altogether. But that isn’t always possible. And that isn’t always the right
path to follow. Sometimes confrontation is the right thing to do. Sometimes
confrontation is the godly thing to do. It may still be difficult. It may still
be painful. It may still result in some strained, and perhaps even severed
relationships, but sometimes confrontation just has to be done.
Paul
faced a situation like that on his first missionary journey, at one of their
first stops.
“They
(Paul and Barnabas) traveled through the whole island (Cyprus) until they came
to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an
intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word
of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them
and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called
Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘You are
a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of
all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways
of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be
blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.’ Immediately
mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead
him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he
was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (Acts 14:6-12)
Paul’s
confrontation with Elymas was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It came as the
result of Paul being filled with the Holy Spirit. That means the confrontation
was God’s will. It was what God wanted Paul to do. Paul couldn’t just sit idly
by and allow Elymas to try to keep the proconsul from coming to faith in Jesus.
Too
much was at stake for God to be willing to allow Elymas a free reign without
confronting his wrong actions. The eternity of the proconsul was at stake. Perhaps
the entire church at Paphos was at stake. With the proconsul coming to faith,
the Gospel would have great freedom to be preached in that area. With the
proconsul against the Gospel, it could have been much more difficult for it to
become established.
So
Paul did the confronting and God put His stamp of approval on the confrontation
by blinding Elymas.
Not
every confrontation is God’s will – but some are!
Not
every confrontation comes from pure motives – but some do!
The
principle is to encourage us to keep our hearts open to what the Lord wants us
to do and to examine the motives that drive us. And then be willing to do what
the Lord asks – even the tough stuff of confrontation when that is His will.
His,
by Grace,
Steve
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