[Those who fear the Lord] share freely and give generously to those in need.
….Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
….They will have influence and honor. Psalm 112:9 NLT
Acts 25:23-26:32 (<<click here to read the passage)
I found this illustration in a sermon this past week and thought it fit pretty well here.
A rabbi was walking in the country when he came across an old farmer working in the fields.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Terrible!” The farmer began to recite his litany of troubles
“The tomato crop failed this year.
..The apples had worms in them.
….The corn crop was a disaster
……Things couldn’t get any worse.
……..My kids were sick
……….My wife broke her arm
Nothing has gone well
..No signs of anything getting any better.
….Trouble on every side
……Can’t pay the bills. If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.
……Things couldn’t get any worse. It’s been a terrible year.
God looked down and spoke to the rabbi and said, “If he thinks this is bad, wait until he sees next year!”
The rabbi continued down the road and came across the farmer in an adjoining field.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
The farmer replied, “Doing pretty good.”
The corn crop is not the best in the world, but it will give us a little money.
..The apples weren’t as good as last year,
but they sure made some good applesauce.
….My kids were sick but they’re doing better now.
……We paid off half the bills this year so I’m thankful for that.
……..We’re a happy family and we’ve got food on the table.
God said to the rabbi, “Well, if he thinks that’s good, just wait until he sees what I will do for him next year.”
Not every set of circumstances in which we find ourselves in life will be good ones. Often we are blessed with no complaints, but there are times of testing that come into our lives. We can choose to bemoan our circumstances, or we can choose to see the silver lining even amongst the clouds.
The first farmer saw the clouds but totally missed any silver linings that were probably there while the second farmer pulled into view the silver lining in all of his trials.
Paul could easily have lamented about his imprisonment. He could have complained about the unjust accusations of his Jewish adversaries. Towards the end of his “sermon”, he mentions his chains, but he didn’t grumble about them.
In this life, it is best to make the most of our circumstances. My Life Application Study Bible says as much of Paul.
Military officers and prominent city leaders met in the auditorium with Agrippa to hear this case. Paul saw this new audience as yet another opportunity to present the Good News.
It can be a hard-knock life but instead of putting all of our attention on the clouds, we should strive to seek out those silver linings. We should see those as opportunities to shine brightly through it all as ambassadors of Jesus as we share Him with those with whom we come in contact.
Aug 11th, 2022, Thurs, 9:14 pm
