“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 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. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 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” (Acts 9:1-6).
Our Father in heaven, here we are again before the Mercy Seat standing in the need of prayer. We return to this sacred place and stand on holy ground in total surrender to You, and to Your will! So please Lord, have Your own way with us, and by Your grace we will give You all the honor, glory and praise, in the blessed name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus the Messiah. Amen.
We have a rather lengthy Scripture for our devotional today. This is the beginning of the story of Saul turned Paul. I have put part of the conversation between God and Saul in BOLD because I want us to pay close attention to something in particular. This was obviously not the first time God had tried to convince Saul that he was headed in the wrong direction! Now he has been “cast off of his high horse,” lying on the side of the road, and God initiates the conversation with a question:
God: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Saul: “Who are You, Lord?“
God: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.“
This conversation reveals a lot! When God asked Saul why he was persecuting Him, we could look at Saul’s response two ways: As it appears in Scripture. Or, “Who are You? Lord?”
That would explain why God said to him: It is hard for you to kick against the goads.“
A goad is a long stick with a pointed end that is used to prick or prod animals, usually to get them in line, or keep them in line. It would appear that this was not the first time God had tried to disuade Saul from persecuting His people. Paul had most likely ignored the prodding.
However, after the manner in which Stephen died; meekly, with this angelic look on his face, and looking up to heaven, asking God to forgive his murderers (Acts 8), this must have given Paul reason to ponder, where or Who the prodding on his conscience was coming from.
Could that be the reason why, he used the word Lord in his inquiry about Who this mysterious person was, who had thrown him off his horse? And why, immediately upon hearing that it was the Jesus that Stephen was willing to die for, he asked the question that would change the direction of his life, forever, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Sometimes, it takes the falls that leave us bruised and broken, that manage to get our attention. God may have been prodding us for years, and we would not stop kicking against the goads, until we are too broken to continue resisting.
May that not have to be our experience. But thank God, Saul’s brokenness led to his salvation!
We will continue this conversation.