You would think there would be more to the beginning of what we now know as one of Paul’s missionary journeys, but it really seems like Paul and Barnabas were sitting around one day and Paul said: “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing”. And with that, a missionary journey was born.
I guess I’ve always thought of these journeys as something bigger than life. But really it is just the record of what Paul did. He went about encouraging and strengthening the churches. He was an evangelist. It’s what he did. It’s what he was good at.
But right after Paul’s ‘good’ idea, comes a ‘bad’ one. He didn’t want to take Mark but Barnabas did; and from there things got really ‘ugly’ fast. In Acts, Luke tells us that “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.”
How often do our good ideas get sidetracked before they ever get off the ground? This exchange could have resulted in one less missionary journey; but in spite of how ugly it got, neither Paul nor Barnabas let it keep them from the good they had thought to do.
There will forever be an enemy to any good idea that God gives us. As much as God tries to initiate them for the purpose of encouraging and strengthening other believers, Satan does his best to stifle them.
Lord help me to see the ‘good’ ideas You give me, through to their end; to not let the ‘bad’ or even the ‘ugly’ keep me from what I think to do; to more and more use what I am good at for this purpose.
Hunger and Thirst 
I can look back and remember things that I wanted to do, thought I would do, but then never took the steps to do them. It’s easy to get discouraged and distracted, but not so easy to persevere and stay focused! Thank you for this reminder to not let the bad and ugly stop us from doing good! 🙂
Looking back is not a pretty picture for me either. Most of the things I see and write confirm what I already believe. Like layers of an already existing onion. But for me, this is a whole new onion. I can’t just tuck it away as a cool thought. If I really believe it – which I do – this one will change me.
Hi Mike,
That’s some good encouragement. 🙂 The enemy often uses our relationshipstrives to trip us up, get us distracted from God’s purposes in our lives because it is an effective stategy. Thanks for the reminder that the enemy is often at work in those difficult relationships.
Rachel
I know you’ll agree that God’s word is a rewarding place to dig around in. I don’t know why this time around I am seeing more than I used to, but I am simply blown away by it. There is so much there.
By the way, when you comment, the link to your website still does not show up. There is a link to your email but not your site. I noticed too, your name ‘Rachel’ is in black instead of green letters. If it is black, you can’t link to your site by clicking on it. To change that, if you want to, go to the ‘Users’ tab on the side toolbar – near the bottom – and then to ‘Personal Settings’. There is a place there to type in your URL so that when you comment, your name will be a link to your site. Then sit back, strap yourself down and be prepaired for a lot of extra traffic. 🙂
Mike – thanks so much. I didn’t see this comment. I truly appreciate the additional prompting!
The Word truly is amazing. What I’ve learned over the years and continue to learn … how the Spirit uses it to speak right to my life … how I’ve grown close to God through it has astounded me.
Thanks for the assistance on the link. Greatly appreciated!
Rachel