“When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.” Acts16:19.
Paul and Silas were heading for a time of prayer while in Philippi. They were approached by a slave girl, who made money for her slave owners by telling fortunes. Influenced by an evil spirit, the girl followed after Paul and Silas, as they walked along, shouting out that these two men were servants of God. Paul turned to face the girl and commanded the evil spirit to leave her. The owners of the girl made money from the evil spirit speaking through the girl. Now with the spirit gone, the slave owners lost a source of their income. They overtook Paul and Silas and dragged them into court.
It’s funny, in a strange way, how people react when their stream of money is disturbed or even stopped. These people seized Paul and Silas and had them thrown in jail. That’s a pretty harsh reaction. In my life, when an investment lost much of its value, I was not a happy camper. I moaned and groaned and, in general, moped around, feeling sorry for myself. At other times, I have been really angry when I felt financially taken advantage of. It seems that I get a great deal of security and satisfaction from knowing that I am financially comfortable.
Questions to consider: How do you respond when your finances are disturbed in some way? Where is your security…really? Do you feel a tension between God and your finances? If so, what are you doing about it?
Prayer: Father, my heart wants to find its security in You, yet I wrestle with finding my security in my paycheck and savings account. Please help me to discover a healthy balance in my finances. Amen.
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