Your Journey

          Think about the current direction you’re traveling right now. Are you going in the direction God wants you to go? How do you know for sure?  Do you have signs you’re following that point the way you should go? Or have you received a vision like Saul did? Have you been blinded by the light of Christ’s love? Did you have an Ananias come to you and pray and lay hands on you? Have you had someone come and prepare a meal for you because you’d been fasting for 3 days like Saul?

          Think about you life to this point on your journey. Has anyone ever played the role of Ananias for you? How did they do that? Did you have to call them to come or did they just arrive at your front door? Did they come right in and tell you Jesus had sent them to pray for you?

          We are all on journeys, I believe. Some of us know where we’re going and some of us just wander willy-nilly through this life without much of a plan. And then there are those who actually talk with God…and listen to Him for directions.  And then there are those whom God smacks right between the eyes with a 2 X 4 to get their attention before he gives them directions. Which one are you?

          Saul thought he knew exactly where he was going. He knew he was going in the right direction. He knew that he was doing exactly what God wanted him to do. But we see now that he didn't really know anything about what God had planned for him. Maybe he was talking to God but he wasn't doing the listening part.
          Let consider for a moment what we’d do when it looks like God is going to ask us to do something really hard? Are we really quick to say, “I can’t do that because I don’t know how,” or, “I’m afraid I might make a mistake or someone might not like it?” Or has it ever happened that God did to you what he did to Saul and just dumped it in your lap and told you to get to it. Sometimes that’s the way it works. God doesn't give us time to say yes or no because he’s God and he just needs us to get it done. Or, do we just turn our backs on God and walk away, kind of like Jonah? I wonder if God had been talking to Saul before the blinding light on the road to Damascus but he just wasn't listening. I wonder…
          Has what God been asking you to do ever seem so hard that you did walk away from Jesus or thought about doing so?  Weren't you a little afraid to do that, knowing God was calling you to a particular task. I’ll tell you if his mind is set on you doing it you’d just as well listen because it’s going to happen sooner or later. Just look at Saul and the drastic measures God went to to get his attention.
          So, how does Jesus call us back when we try to ignore him?  How has he called you back? Is God calling you to a particular task today? Are you listening? Are you digging in your heels? Friend, I pray that you will heed God’s call to serve him. I’ve found that even though I don’t think I can do something when I decide to give my problem to him everything falls into place.  I don’t mean to say it’s easy. It’s usually not but it does get done.

          Good friends, pay attention to word Luke has for us about Saul’s conversion and his change of direction for his life. Take time to listen for God’s voice and if he’s nudging you to go in a certain direction I pray that you’ll go because I believe that the rewards will be great.

          My friends, God loves you and so do I. Amen.