"I'm Outta Here!"-John Mark

I sure tried to follow the Lord's leading.

Loving Him.

Walking closely with Him.

Reading His Word.

Praying.

Obeying.

Seeking forgiveness for my sins.

Seeking godly advice from friends.

Isaiah 30:21 (ESV) "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. "

I felt confident.

I headed down the road.

A smooth road.

For a while.

Sunshine.

For a while.

Birds singing.

For a while.

Then in the blink of an eye the road gets rough.

The clouds roll in.

The darkness is so thick you can cut it with a chain saw.

"But Lord, I thought this is the way you wanted me to go."

"I must have made a mistake!"

Ever been there?

I have.

And so has John Mark.

Check this out:

Acts 13:4-13 (ESV) "So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. AND THEY HAD JOHN TO ASSIST THEM.

When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time." Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.

Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And JOHN LEFT THEM AND RETURNED TO JERUSALEM."

John Mark decided to turn back.

"This is crazy!"

"I thought God wanted me to do this but I'm no Paul or Barnabas!"

"I'm just plain old John Mark!"

What he didn't realize is that it was God working through and sustaining Paul and Barnabas.

The difference was they trusted God to show up.

On sunny days.

On stormy days.

It took faith.

But the best thing about this story is that God wasn't finished with John Mark.

Paul may have written him off.

Barnabas didn't:

Acts 15:36-41 (ESV) "And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are."

Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord."

John Mark was originally on the right road even though it didn't seem like it.

But God is so kind.

Once He assigns us a mission He doesn't give up on us.

Even when we turn back.

Psalms 103:14 (ESV) "For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust."

John Mark didn't make the same mistake twice.

He went on to be a great hero of the faith.

He even wrote the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament!

Even Paul eventually came around:

2 Timothy 4:11 (ESV) "Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry."

Feeling inadequate?

Things a little tough?

Stick with it.

God will help you.

Have you already turned back?

God knows your heart.

If you're willing, He'll get you back on the right road.

And you'll be able to encourage others who are faltering.

You might even share with them something like this:

Don't ever doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.

I like to think that's something John Mark would say.