EXPLORE IT - Acts 9: Paul & "Neighbor" Jesus

Do you ever wonder if you are on the path God desires for you?  Maybe somewhere along the way you made a decision that wasn’t what God intended.  You turned left when God meant for you to turn right and now your life is forever “off track.”  Our passage this week gives us hope that as long as we are seeking God, He will intervene and not only return us to the proper path, but the outcome may be far greater than we ever anticipated.

This week we begin a five week look at the Apostle Paul and some of the people he journeys with as he seeks the path God has for him.  Beginning with Acts 9, we see the Pharisee Paul (Saul) as he persecutes Jesus’ Disciples (aka those who, “belonged to the Way” Acts 9:2b), incorrectly believing he is on the proper path to serve God.  But God intervenes in order to redirect Paul to the correct path. 

Jesus meets with Paul on the road to Damascus and strikes him blind for three days.  During these three days, the Lord speaks to a disciple named Ananias, telling him to go and place his hands on Paul so that he will regain his sight.  The Lord also tells Ananias that Paul is God’s, “chosen instrument to carry (God’s) name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15).  Paul was following one path, but God wanted him on another. 

Paul could have resisted God, imagining this whole episode was a bizarre happening and continued to persecute Christians.  He could have continued down the wrong path.  But Paul’s heart was open to God’s message, he was willing to admit he had taken a wrong turn, he in fact became eager to follow God’s plan and immediately redirected his life!  Paul began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God, surprising those who knew him before his road to Damascus experience.

As we journey through life, we too must serve God, but be open to his guiding hand.  If we find ourselves going in the wrong direction and God intervenes to set us straight, we must humble ourselves and wholeheartedly change course in order get back on track.  As long as we follow Him, we will never have to worry about being on the path God desires for us!

Blessings,
Pastor Amy