In a bible study the other evening, we went over 2Cor2: 12-13. Paul writes...
12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The point of our lesson was that things in ministry (and in following Christ for that matter) just don't always go the way we feel they should. The side story is that the bible is so amazing in that it is real. Things go wrong. Everything is not perfect. If "man" were fabricating a "holy book" it would seem perfect. I digress.
My question is this. Should Paul have left Troas? Too often, I believe people feel that everything Paul did was perfect. Not true. I see it two ways.
1. Paul should not have left. God opened the door. Paul, looking at earthly things instead of God's provision and plan, was discouraged and bolted. He should have stayed.
2. Paul mentions having no, "peace of mind". This is his explanation of feeling that although the Lord opened the door, that He was now telling him to not continue.
Your thoughts?
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3 comments:
Woof! I have wondered about this before. We're not guaranteed peace of mind in everything God has called us to. But are we to walk through every door the Lord has opened for us? Sounds like we (read: I) could always stand to pray more. And that God can use us even when we make excuses and miss out on opportunities... He went onto use Paul a bit, huh?
Of course he should not have stayed. If he had stayed, we wouldn't have this lesson.
I'm not really sure if there is an answer. I mean, yeah, if he stayed, he might have been able to be more effective, but he didn't have "peace of mind" about being there. I guess this just goes to show Paul had a tough time hearing God sometimes too.
If I may add another part to this question: why was Paul in Troas in the first place? Obviously, to preach the Gospel, but was he really intended to stay there for any length of time? I believe Troas was kind of a planned "detour" (I've really benn into the Amazing Race lately). There was certainly a purpose for him being there and it's an amazing story, too! (read Acts 20:1-38) But the lesson we can learn from Paul is that he is always so connected to the purpose of his mission. He gives it everything he's got (whether his mission was to persecuate the church or to evangelize the church!).
I agree that ministry doesn't always go as planned, but everything is for a very specific reason. Troas was part of his ministry but his final destination was to be in Rome and he was working his way there. SO, to answer your question, yes, Paul was to leave Troas. It was all part of the greater picture of his mission to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth!
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