The Green Pastures

Have you ever felt lost? Maybe you were driving and took a few wrong turns. Maybe your directions just cut out in an area you weren’t familiar with. Or maybe you thought you knew the way, but something changes that all of a sudden. I remember one time I was driving home around midnight when I saw the usual route I would take blocked off. I have only ever taken that one way, but I was forced to pass it and figure out another way. Life can often feel like that. We can be cruising and all of a sudden our direction must change. For Saul, this was more obvious and radical than what most people will face. He was pretty much set on what he would be doing with his life, the persecution of Christians. That is, until God stepped in. 

Interruption

“Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Acts 9:4-5

Saul is on his way to persecute Christians and is stopped in his tracks in a radical way. Imagine walking down a road and all of a sudden, the God of the universe stops you and speaks to you. When God shows up to people in the Bible there could be numerous reasons. For example, Moses is given the commandments; Mary is told that she is pregnant with the coming messiah. But in all those, it is for an important reason, important enough to lean in and listen. We can see this most clearly when He sent Nathan to David after his sin with Bathsheba. David is fresh off committing one of the most infamous sins in the Bible. He responds not in anger toward Nathan, but takes his rebuke seriously. We must treat God’s wake up calls with the utmost seriousness above anything else. Thankfully God is gracious and gives us wake up calls we can respond to. Rather than the all powerful God being too confusing to us, He gives it in a digestible way. One remarkable thing about this encounter is that when Saul asks who is speaking to him God responds with “I am Jesus”, sort of calling back to Moses and the burning bush with “I Am”. God is using His name from the time of the Israelite slavery in Egypt and combining it with the more relevant name in Saul’s time of Jesus. 

Direction

We’ve seen God interrupting Saul’s life journey. Now let’s look at how God directs Saul. 

“But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” Acts 9:6

God gives Saul close to nothing. “Rise and enter” is all God gives, no to-do list, no specific person to meet. On top of all that, God blinded him. I used to wrestle with not knowing the next steps of my life. I would generally know what God wanted me to do, but I never liked not knowing the exact steps. Comparing my past to the story of Saul is laughable. I was annoyed that I didn’t have a step-by-step guide specific to my life, while Saul is being told rise and enter while being blinded. Saul must have been mad with God right? No. He rose up and went where God had called him. He is minutes removed from going to Damascus to arrest Christians and yet, now we see he is following God’s orders. I pray that we would have the radical obedience that Saul has, to be able to do a complete 180 on plans, simply because God says to. 

Trust, Rise, and Go

So what do we do when God calls us to change plans with little to no instruction beyond that? Trust, rise, and go. 

Trust. Trust that God is the greatest storyteller and won’t leave your story unfinished. He will work it all out for good for those who are called according to His will. A perfect example of this is Paul. He had hard time after hard time and still knew that God would work it out for good in this life or the eternal life. We see this most clearly when he says “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Rise. Don’t stay down. You are a new creation. God has saved you from eternal damnation, so reach out to take the hand of God and let Him pull you out of that pit. God has already paid the price. He tore the veil so we could reach out to Him personally. 

Go. Don’t get comfortable. God’s children are made to wander in the wilderness—not for the same reason as the Israelites, but to search for those lost and point them to the living water that is the Savior Jesus Christ. 

So what did I do when I was lost on my drive home that night? I called my dad. I called him asking for help. I had no idea where I was and no directions for where to drive, but my dad looked up where I was and guided me home. After a little while, I knew where I was and could get home, but for a while, I knew if I wanted to get home I would have to trust that my dad knew the way. Now, my dad would admit he’s far from the level of father that God is—so if even an earthly father would help his son, how much more would the perfect Heavenly Father do the same? I can picture Him waiting for you to call out to Him. Maybe you have an idea of what direction your life is going, but maybe God will call you to something else. It may hurt or leave you asking more questions than you have answers, but lean on Him and He will make your path straight and carry you through it all. Listen to Him and lean on Him so He canB set you straight and guide you home.