He was in a strait betwixt two, wriggling and hesitating, and at last
he cries in his bewilderment, "_What shall we do for the hundred
talents which I have given to the army of Israel_?" And the man of God
answers, "_Never mind the money, let that go; far better forfeit that
than lose God's help. The Lord is able to do for thee much more than
the hundred talents are worth_."

And now, out of this old story, we learn some lessons for this and
every day.


I.

Our difficulties in the way of serving and obeying God are often
self-made.


They are always more or less self-made. This man pleads his own wrong
act as a reason why he should not do right now. He himself has raised
the obstacle which now stands in the way of obedience. He ought not to
have sought the help of an idolatrous king. He ought not to have
bargained for these hirelings, he ought not to have paid the money.
God had not put the difficulty in his way; his own foolish and wicked
action had created it. And people are constantly talking as this man
talked, declaring that there are hindrances and immense difficulties
which prevent them from doing what is right, prevent them from doing
what they know to be the will of God. They talk as if God was somehow
responsible for those hindrances, when, in fact, their own wrong-doing
has caused them.