And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
I by no means wish to cast aspersion upon the Apostle; I only desire to make applications based on my personal ministry observations.
The Bible says that the damsel possessed followed Paul and distracted his ministry with her “cries” for many days. The Bible further says that after many days Paul, being grieved, turned, and commanded the spirit to come out of her. Perhaps it took these many days before the Holy Spirit gave Paul liberty to give this command. I do not know. What I do know is that for many days
- The evil spirit continued to possess the damsel and to vex the ministry of Paul
- Paul was forced to persist in his ministry, dealing with this evil spirit’s pressure and grief.
- Those Paul preached to were subjected to the harassment of the evil spirit
Had Paul turned and commanded the spirit to come out of her the first day
- The damsel would have been free sooner
- Paul would have less stress sooner
- His audience would have been protected more quickly
Why he waited many days is a mystery. The Bible does not say, and I would not question Apostle Paul. I do know that in the years I’ve been in the ministry, I have, too many times, waited longer to confront an evil than I think I should have.
Seldom do those I need to confront turn on their own. Very often, the problems I had hoped to avoid by waiting happen nonetheless.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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