Saul was committed. As a Pharisee, he was wholly committed to the law. He was brilliant but faith was not an academic pursuit for him—he LIVED it. When Stephen was stoned, Saul did not shy from bloody death. Saul may have felt like a benchwarmer holding everyone’s cloaks (was he the youngest?), but he “heartily agreed with putting him to death” Acts 8:1.
Then Saul seems to have felt he had something to prove: “Saul began ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison” 8:3. When he ran out of locals to persecute, Saul took to the road.
“Saul was still breathing threats and murder…. He went to the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem” Acts 9:1-2.
Saul was as dedicated!
Then Jesus spoke.
“As he traveled, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
‘Who are you, Lord?’
‘I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting’” Acts 9:3-6.
What did Saul do? Did he ignore the voice from heaven? Persist in his wrong path? No.
PAUL YIELDED.
How hard was that? This brilliant man who had dedicated his life to God, and to always being right about the law, suddenly has to admit he has been wrong ALL ALONG. That an uneducated outsider—that blaspheming carpenter from Nazareth—is actually the Messiah, in fact, He is God in the flesh! What a staggering admission for Saul.
Can you YIELD? Can you admit when you are wrong? Are you open to the Lord—if God needs to revolutionize your entire life, will you accept it? In this world of fake news (from both sides), the ONLY voice you can fully trust is the voice of God.
Ask for His wisdom about EVERYTHING.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 