Arise, and go into the city,
and it shall be told thee what
thou must do.
Acts 9:6b
This morning I had been reading about "Saul of Tarsus," the fiendish persecutor of the early church. According to the New Testament, he was a vengeful and vindictive religious zealot who was on his way to a city called Damascus to arrest and torture his fellow Jews who'd come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah...
and it shall be told thee what
thou must do.
Acts 9:6b
This morning I had been reading about "Saul of Tarsus," the fiendish persecutor of the early church. According to the New Testament, he was a vengeful and vindictive religious zealot who was on his way to a city called Damascus to arrest and torture his fellow Jews who'd come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah...
But while Saul was on his journey he had a sudden encounter with Jesus himself which left him blinded by the brightness of the Lord. Several days later, however, Saul received his sight back. Yet is was at the moment when he first encountered the Messiah that a cruel Saul became a very humbled apostle, now known as Paul.
What I especially found interesting about this event was when Jesus told this newly "born again" man to "Arise, and go." Then, as the Lord further instructed him, when he got to his destination, Paul would be told what to do next.
Many times we have to step out in faith while not being able to see the whole picture. God won't always map everything out for us. But as we humble ourselves and yield to what He is asking us to do, even when such instructions may not seem to make sense to our finite minds, we can trust the Lord to eventually reveal what to do next. I liken this to walking by faith in a progression of steps. It's only when we take the first step that the Lord will show us where to take the next step, and when to do it.
I've often found this to be the case with my own life. Little by little, the Lord patiently unfolds His plan for me. After all, He knows the end from the beginning, and He has promised to direct my steps, too. So when the Lord says, "David, arise, and go," I'm expected to act upon these words and do them. And this is true, even if, in the back of my mind, I'd find myself saying, "Go where, Lord?"
Of course, the truth is, many times I don't do this. I'll begin to doubt the Lord or question if it is even Him that's speaking, or is it only my flesh. I'll become fearful, and then disobedient. Nevertheless, I see the apostle Paul as a model of how I should be, and how every Christian should be, when it comes to the Lord telling us what to do and where to go.
D.B.
What I especially found interesting about this event was when Jesus told this newly "born again" man to "Arise, and go." Then, as the Lord further instructed him, when he got to his destination, Paul would be told what to do next.
Many times we have to step out in faith while not being able to see the whole picture. God won't always map everything out for us. But as we humble ourselves and yield to what He is asking us to do, even when such instructions may not seem to make sense to our finite minds, we can trust the Lord to eventually reveal what to do next. I liken this to walking by faith in a progression of steps. It's only when we take the first step that the Lord will show us where to take the next step, and when to do it.
I've often found this to be the case with my own life. Little by little, the Lord patiently unfolds His plan for me. After all, He knows the end from the beginning, and He has promised to direct my steps, too. So when the Lord says, "David, arise, and go," I'm expected to act upon these words and do them. And this is true, even if, in the back of my mind, I'd find myself saying, "Go where, Lord?"
Of course, the truth is, many times I don't do this. I'll begin to doubt the Lord or question if it is even Him that's speaking, or is it only my flesh. I'll become fearful, and then disobedient. Nevertheless, I see the apostle Paul as a model of how I should be, and how every Christian should be, when it comes to the Lord telling us what to do and where to go.
D.B.
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