Been Stoned Lately?

Once again Beth Moore has nudged me into a position of understanding. I knew I would enjoy studying the life of Paul. There is just so much meat to consume. And the time it takes to digest is dessert itself.

As we were covering the episode of Paul and Barnabas on their first mission we saw them escape stoning in Iconium but not in Lystra. The good folks of Lystra had great aim and timing. They caught Paul, stoned him and left him for dead.

Can you imagine what Barnabus must have felt? Anguish? Fear? Sorrow? And then to see his friend get up and walk away! Bloody, yes. Battered, yes - but alive.

When he wrote to Timothy (2Tim 3:10,11) Paul recalls these situations and refers to both as being rescued by God.

This is where Mrs. Moore shines.

Beth is great about taking a key word in a phrase back to Greek or Hebrew to shed more light on this beautiful book of God's. The Greek word for rescued is rhuomai and in this situation the meaning is more along the lines of "drawing to oneself than merely rescuing from someone or something."

I may as well have had a rock thrown against my own head at that. The clouds rolled back and the clarity rained down.

You see, I've been praying for a couple of things for a while now. I've asked God to draw me close to Him and to rescue me from certain situations in life.

Now I get it. The rescue I am seeking is already happening.

Mesi Jezi.