2 QUESTIONS
This week I have found myself looking back over at the book of Acts. I love the encounter that Saul has with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was literally hunting the followers of Jesus down to persecute them but that one encounter with Jesus totally transformed him; so much so that God even changed his name to Paul.
The book of Acts always humbles me as it reminds me about my own journey; how one minute I was going one way in a life of crime and then one encounter with Jesus totally changed my direction and the way that I lived life. I would love to carry on and say that I became just like Paul, totally devoted to the Lord doing anything I could do to fulfill the mission of bringing the ‘Good News’ of Jesus to a world of people who need Him but alas that wouldn’t be true so I won’t say it!
It is fair to say that I have had many good seasons, times when I have felt so close to God and times when I have had a passion that has burned bright for Jesus but there have also been many more times when I have just gone with the flow, being happy to just sink into the background all because i have been thinking that everyone else can do a better job than me!
The truth is I have compared myself and when I do that I end up seeing myself as falling short which in returns means I end up doing nothing of significance to advance the Kingdom. I have never felt like walking away though, I know all too well that Jesus is the real deal and that nothing can compare to this life of freedom I have now found! I know nothing else but to follow Him, to trust in Him, to love Him and to make Him Lord of my life.
My problem has always been with ‘what I can do for Him’. I am just me, my flaws are endless and those around me seem so much more qualified than I am. “They know Him better than I do” and “I am just me" have always been the excuses I have used to put others forward rather than having a go at things myself! I am glad to say that it has been a year since that attitude changed and it was Saul’s (Paul’s) encounter with Jesus that I have learnt so much from.
During the encounter it says this in Acts 9:5-6,
"And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
I love that this passage comes when Paul was still called Saul. He was still in denial of who Jesus truly was and how he could transform lives. At the time he actually thought he was fighting on God's behalf. He knew the scriptures, in fact he was like the top scholar we see leaving Bible College today. The one we all cheer for and applaud, the trouble was he knew the scriptures but he didn’t know Jesus. I love that in the encounter with Jesus, Saul asks 2 questions that changed everything!
He asks “Who are you Lord?” and he asks “Lord, what do you want me to do?”
The more and more I ponder these questions, the more I realise that these are the questions that change everything for us if we keep asking them!
When we first meet Jesus, we should yearn to know Him more. Every day after that then we should still yearn to know Him more! There is so much to discover that we do not know and even if we spent every day of our lives learning something about Him, it would still not be enough time to know everything. After 25 years as a believer, the apostle Paul said that he had not yet attained to knowing Christ as he ought, but he pressed on toward that goal (Phil. 3:8-14). And if that was true of Paul, who wasn’t exactly an average believer, how much more is it true of us!
Are you pressing on to know Him more deeply? Maybe you once were but just like what can happen in any relationship, you’ve lost that first love that you once had. It is never too late to make this a priority again. Dedicate time to discovering something new in His Word (Bible). Commit to spending time with Him through prayer and worship. Make time to hear from Him, shut out the world and just listen. Knowing more of who He is will change everything for us.
The second thing Paul asks is “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Paul had only just encountered Jesus but he instantly knew that God saved Him with a purpose and there was no time like the present to walk in the way that the Lord would have him walk. Knowing Jesus helps us to know ourselves; our true self and to know that Jesus holds all the answers to get us to the destination that He has in store for us.
Jesus never intended us to just stop and be happy that we are saved. There is a mission to be completed and He wants us all to be involved!
In John 9:4, Jesus said,
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
This verse is incredibly important because it contains a strong warning for every serious Christian. The attitude of Jesus expressed in this scripture must be our attitude as well.
None of us should want to be known as the people who were given a remarkable opportunity to do something to build the Kingdom, but failed to take advantage of the moment because of ignorance, laziness, hesitation, fear, or a “take it easy” mentality! The opportunity will slip away from us, we must be ready to seize the moments He gives us.
by Valda Rushton 21st June 2023
