A BOOK IN A BARREL
Photo courtesy of Bellevue Township High School District 201
In 1833, Abraham Lincoln and his business partner were preparing to close their country store. Lincoln told him, “I wouldn’t mind if we sold everything, paid our bills and had just enough left to buy one book, Blackstone’s Commentary on English Law.”
Soon a wagon pulled up. The driver said they had no money and wondered if Lincoln would buy a barrel for fifty cents. Lincoln started to wave them off, but the despair in the eyes of the settler’s wife stirred his compassion. Handing him his last fifty cents, Abe purchased the barrel. As he rolled it to a corner of the store, Lincoln heard something moving around. Reaching inside, he pulled out a book… Blackstone’s Commentary on English Law. (Source: The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ketcham)
Mere coincidence? You decide. Studying Blackstone led Lincoln into a law career, leading him to become a well-known trial attorney, leading him to debate against slavery, leading him to run for public office, leading him to be elected President of the United States, leading him to guide our nation through the Civil War, ultimately saving our republic—all beginning with a book in a barrel. A specific book, in a specific barrel, found by a specific man, at a specific time. God’s hand was behind it, leading this shopkeeper to save our nation.
That’s a huge chain-of-events! God loves to use insignificant occurrences, to change the world. A boy with a sling, a man with a staff, a fisherman waving good-bye to his nets, you and I saying “yes” to his call. Philippians 2:13 states, “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” We simply put one foot in front of the other, and trust God with the outcome.
Normally we don’t get to see the results. But trust that God’s at work in our lives, just as he was that day when Abraham Lincoln stuck his hand in a barrel and found a book that changed the destiny of our nation.
Ponder:
What specific “book-in-a-barrel” experiences have you faced?
What opportunities is God presenting to you now upon which you need to pray and act?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study the book of Esther.
Lord, give me wisdom to see where you’re working and how I need to respond.
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