When have you been torn between two choices?
Once you made up your mind, what was the deciding factor?
The apostle Paul was torn between the two ultimate choices of life or death. He was “hard pressed between the two.”
The Greek here is sunechomai, which means to be pressed on or constrained, as in a crowd.
The decision was crushing him from every angle.
Memorize This Week
23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
Philippians 1:23-24
Choose Mercy
We read of another crushing decision in the Old Testament. King David was asked to pick his punishment after he sinned by numbering the people against the Lord’s will. David was in great distress (2 Samuel 24:12-14). He had three choices: (1) seven years of famine, (2) a three month’s chase by enemies, or (3) three days of an epidemic.
David ultimately chose the last option, disease for three days, for this reason:
Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”
2 Samuel 12:14
Because the Lord’s mercy is great, David trusted Him.
Paul also knew the Lord’s mercy. And because of that knowledge, he longed to be directly with the Lord, the “far better” choice.
But next week we’ll memorize why Paul did NOT choose death, however, and we’ll see how we can frame our own decisions like Paul did.
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