God Has A Reason
Do you feel left behind? God has a reason.
“This is why I left you in Crete…” (Titus 1:5a, ESV).
I’ve never been to Crete. I don’t know what the island is like today, and I don’t know much about what the island was like 2,000 years ago when the Apostle Paul left Titus there. I have a hunch that it wasn’t an easy assignment. Titus 1:12-13 says, “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true.” Not exactly a glowing endorsement!
Titus may have wondered why Paul left him behind on an island full of lazy, gluttonous, self-centered liars. He might have even thought, “I could be serving in Corinth or Ephesus. I could be taking the gospel to Rome or even Spain with Paul. But, no. I’m wasting my time in Crete.”
But what I find interesting is that had Paul not left Titus to put things in order and develop leaders in the churches in Crete, he wouldn’t have written the third Pastoral Epistle, and we’d be missing one of the books of the Bible. Paul's purpose for Titus in Crete was to put things in order and appoint elders. And God had an even bigger purpose for Titus in Crete: to be the recipient of one of the letters inspired by the Holy Spirit and preserved in the New Testament for Christians of all times.
Remember that God has a reason when you feel out of the loop—like you’re spinning your wheels while opportunities fly by. We are where he’s sent us for a purpose. It’s okay to ask, “God, why have you left me here?” That’s a question we should be asking frequently. When we develop the habit of asking God, “What do you want me to do here,” we will begin to see the opportunities he’s put all around us. And we’ll be able to respond to the doors he opens because we’re paying attention.
Who knows? Maybe one of those lying, lazy, evil beasts you work or live with will come to faith in Jesus because of your testimony. And perhaps they’ll travel the world feeding thousands of hungry kids in the name of Christ, all because you were “left behind” by God!
Encouraging, as always!
Great devotion!