NO CIGAR

2 Kings 13:1-14:29; Acts 18:23-19:12; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 18:2-3

“Then Elisha said, ‘Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.’ So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. ‘You should have struck the ground five or six times!’ he exclaimed. ‘Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.’”

 “Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.”

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.”

“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.”

When winds of change and adversity blow through a family, “close” is not good enough. We need our decisions and reactions to be correct. When the pressure is on, we simply don’t have the margin of error we might have at other, more relaxed times. Yet that is usually the time when we are most ill-equipped to make good decisions. Fear and uncertainty raise our adrenalin as well as our emotions. We lose our objectivity and find rational thought difficult if not impossible. For many of us, the first reaction is just to do something, anything to prove to ourselves we are still in control. Knee-jerk reactions usually only make a situation worse. Even in circumstances where we are not totally wrong, our rush to action keeps us from choosing the best course. That is why, when the pressure is off, we need to take advantage of the opportunity to firm up our foundations and be sure we and our families are as well-grounded and secure as possible. More important, we cannot let the enthusiasm of momentary victories so carry us away that we lose sight of our long-term goals and needs, or God’s plan for our lives.

Jehoash was one question short of necessary knowledge, but because he responded precipitously to Elisha’s instructions, he never saw the full blessing that could have been his and his kingdom’s. In his rush to improve his situation, he did not consider that he might need additional specifics. Nor did he allow Elisha time to flesh out his instructions. Consequently, his “victory” was limited in both duration and effect.

Apollos fared better. Preaching an incomplete Gospel, he was not leading converts into a personal relationship with Christ as much as stressing their corruption and need for repentance according to the baptism of John. Obviously, while this was not bad, it wasn’t the best. Apollos, though, allowed himself to be held accountable and to be educated about the shortcomings of his message by other believers, and he became a better disciple and evangelist as a result.

At one point in my career when I had no job and the market looked bad, I was given the chance to accept what looked at the time like an excellent opportunity – which is to say, it offered a consistent paycheck. It was with the government, prosecuting claims related to the savings and loan meltdown and the RTC. There would be trial work galore, and there was no foreseeable end to the work. I did the fingerprints, submitted to an FBI security background check and started to prepare for the new position. But something was not right. The Lord did not seem to be saying no, exactly, but I did sense disappointment that I was settling for less than His best by not trusting Him for the absolutely right. Finally, just before the security check was completed, a call came from my old boss offering an interview for a position with one of his clients. Long story short, that call lead to one of the most interesting jobs ever; to better pay; and in a roundabout way, to my current excellent position. These developments really were inconceivable then. I would have missed them all, except for grace. The experience slammed home the importance of taking the time, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel, to be sure goals, dreams and even fears and insecurities, as real and justified as they may be, always take a back seat to God’s Will and plan. At the end of my days, I do not want my epitaph to read: “Close, but no cigar.” God’s plans for our lives are not approximations. We should not be satisfied with getting close to His ideal.