Passage of the Day: Acts 9: 1 – 4 … 1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
My Journal for Today: This is the scene in Paul’s life for which I have the most identification. Some of you know my story, where on the morning of April 13, 1983, I was brought to a halt emotionally, driving to work that morning, while listening to a taped testimony from a young football player who had become quadriplegic from a football accident; but yet this young man found strength from Christ and saw his future through the eyes of God rather than through the eyes of his loss. This incident brought me to “my knees” spiritually; and on that morning I found Christ at the age of 39.
There’s more to the details of my story; but for me, like Paul, it was a Damascus Road turnaround for my life. That day I left for work with my agnostic attitude; and I came home with a new view of the world; and that’s what happened to Saul of Tarsus, who left for Damascus with hate in his heart for Christians but was suddenly bolted on his journey to finally see Christ for Whom He really was. And the life of Saul, who was to become Paul, was never the same again.
But isn’t that just the way of God sometimes? Maybe you’ve experienced it. That’s the way He works in life at times. You can be cruising along through life thinking that you’re in total control; and WHAM, a doctor tells you that you have cancer. Or maybe you had a relative die in the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Or maybe a tornado sweeps in and destroys your home. Sometimes, we just cannot predict how or where God will intervene in our lives to show us that He’s in control. And when these life-changing incidents occur, we may try to deny God’s in the moment; but we will find that trying to ignore or deny them is simply trying to deny God Himself.
My friend, I hope we all are seeking and pursuing all God wants to tell us or all He wants for our lives. Saul of Tarsus certainly got his eyes opened (well, after they were blinded first) to the reality that God had much more for his life than the hatred he held for Christians. Saul was about to find out Whom he really served; and this Jewish leader would never see life the same way again after that day.
I know that after April 13th, 1983 my world view changed forever; and I hope that you are now doing all you can as well to see the world through the eyes of God rather than through selfish, human eyes. Because if you prefer looking at God’s world through selfish eyes, you may be in for a Damascus Road experience one day which will throw you into a posture where you cannot help but see God for Whom He is. I just pray for you that this happens by your choice rather than through some natural disaster one day.
My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, I pray your mercy to help me see the world in Your way rather than in my own. Amen
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