Saul, a zealous Jew, was on a mission to arrest Christians, men and women the Jews believed were traitors to their Jewish faith. God saw his zeal, his determination, his commitment to his Jewish faith. It was like god said to Himself: "I need that man to spread the Word about who My Son truly is, to proclaim the death and resurrection of My Son Jesus. Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians when Jesus stopped him: "Saul, Saul, why are go persecuting me?" The bright light knocked Saul to the ground. Saul responds to the voice of Jesus, asking: "Who are you, Sir?" "I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting." "What am I to do, Sir?" "Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do." Blinded by the light, he needed to be led into Damascus. There God had arranged for a committed Christian to reveal God's will to him.
Notice how Jesus gets Saul to reflect upon his actions, leads him to where he needs to go and gives him the instructions he need to change the course of his life and come on board with Jesus. Jesus does the same for for you and me! He does not come to condemn when He finds us off track. He uses people ad events to redirect us, as He did for Saul. He saves us from choices that are contrary to the will of God for us.
God knows you and me through and through, as He knew Saul. He has a mission for us to fulfill in building up God's Kingdom and spread the Good News of our redemption, to bring hope to those who are hopeless and faith to the despairing by introducing them to Jesus and His Way of Life, the Gospels.
To know God's mission for us, we need to take time to sit at Jesus' feet, especially when we know that we are off track. Especially at those times, we need to come to Jesus, listen to His voice, and be open for His instructions. I had to do that tonight when I ranted and raved about a meeting that was called and that I felt interfered with what I wanted to accomplish tonight. In the solitude of prayer, Jesus asked me: "Why were you against that meeting?" My response: "I was afraid that I would not get my hour of prayer in." Jesus' response to me: "My desire for you is that you do my will, not yours. And my will is that you co-operate with those who have the authority to call a meeting." Jesus did not condemn me but he definitely redirected me! Like Saul, I need to be redirected from time to time. What about you?
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