"God's Wisdom" August 5 Readings: Job 21-22, Acts 27:1–12, Psalm 90:1–9, Proverbs 19:17–19

Today's Readings - Job 21-22, Acts 27:1–12, Psalm 90:1–9, Proverbs 19:17–19

Devotional 

I call it the "business meeting" passage - Acts 27:9-12. Paul was on his way to Rome after his appeal to Caesar and his ship ran into some trouble off the Island of Crete. They were trying to make a simple decision - should they winter in Crete or try to move on before the weather turned to a better harbor?

By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul gave his advice 10 and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete facing the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.

Paul stood alone in this discussion; the Spirit of God had given him forewarnings that there would be great trouble on the trip and that the ship, its cargo and its passengers were in danger if they went on. But Paul was the only guy who cared about the leading of the Holy Spirit. They used other means to reach the decision to furl their sails and head toward Rome.

What bothers me is that the means they used to make decisions were the same ones that we often use in reaching our decisions. None of these means are inherently wrong, but neither do they automatically reveal the will of God. We ought, like Paul, to listen to God - hearing his word and being led of the Holy Spirit.

The first thing they did was consult an expert. No one knew more about sailing than the ship's captain, and his opinion was consulted.

Experts can provide wisdom and can help us with our plans, but they often make bold claims that do not pan out to be true. It is one of my hobbies - listening to the predictions of the "experts" and seeing how wrong they are. Sports reporters almost never pick the right team before the season. Political experts' picks are consistently wrong. Year after year I listen as weather experts predict the winter, or hurricane season, and are consistently wrong about it all. Experts can help, and if we are making decisions, consulting experts is a good thing. But we cannot ascertain the will of God by simply listening to the experts.

They also listened to the man with the power and money - the owner of the ship. Having power and money does not make one an expert on the will of God.

They also looked at the facts of the situation - the harbor they were in was not a suitable one for winter. Surely they needed to move on. We ought not be foolish enough to ignore our circumstances, but by the same token, the will of God is often counter to observable facts. When Pharaoh was bearing down on the Israelites by the Red Sea, the facts said there was no chance for Israel to survive. When Jesus was in the tomb, the facts were the facts - his ministry was over. But if we do not account for the power, plans and activity of God, we will consistently make bad choices and big mistakes.

Finally, they took a vote. In verse 12 it says, "the majority decided." Good Americans. Good Baptists. Take a vote. Majority rules after all.

But here's the problem. The expert was wrong. The man with the money and power was wrong. The circumstances were misleading and the majority blew it on this one. The only person who was right was the person who heard from God. Paul was right and everything and everyone else was wrong. They paid a high price for not listening to God.

We must get our guidance from the Word of God and from the leading of God's Holy Spirit that is drawn from that word. The wise Christian listens to experts, but does not put his trust in them. He respects others opinions but does not kowtow to them. He examines the facts but trusts the Word of God. And he knows that the majority may rule in democratic bodies, but that does not mean the majority is always right. The majority can be as wrong as the devil himself.

Father, help me to be led by you, by your word and by your spirit and not by any of this world's inferior wisdom. 

Think and Pray

Do you live on God's agenda, set by his word and by the guidance of his Spirit, or do you follow men - the majority, their expertise, circumstances?

Do you trust God in difficult times as Paul did in this chapter?