Thursday 31 Oct 2013

Thursday Reading: Acts 9:3-7

Key Verse: Acts 9:5
5 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.”

Devotion:
Saul had been taught many things by the religious crowd at the time and he was doing all he could to rid the people of those that believed in Christ. It is little wonder then that Christ had to take such drastic steps for him to hear the truth! Samuel may have had to be spoken to a few times before being told that it was God who spoke, but Saul needed something that was going to have a bit bigger impact on his life!

How closed are your ears to the word of God? How hard will God have to shout before you stop and listen? Those may seem like unfair questions for most of us to answer because we do not verbally hear God speaking; but it is not just those verbal words that we should be hearing! God has given us so much through His Word and through the people around us that we should not have to look and listen for that thunderous voice calling us from the sky!

God wants us to listen to His calling. Not just carry on doing the things that we want to do but to stop and listen to what He is trying to say to us. That does mean that we should put aside the things of the world around us and stop and listen to what He is trying to say. We could pick on many people in our bibles to show us that we need to stop and listen but each of us (as are the stories in the bible) is very different and we each need a different approach from God. He is the one who knows exactly what we need and how much it will take before we do listen.

Are you going to be like Saul and kick up a huge song and dance before God stops you in your tracks, or are you going to be like one of the disciples and put down everything and follow Christ without question? It is very hard to put aside our worldly ways and life and take on the task of being a true servant of Christ. It is not what everyone can handle – some will crack up long before getting to be that servant, so God will not ask those people. Instead He knows what each of us can handle and will do what it takes for us to fulfil the role He has for us. Being a servant is not an easy task!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like what you do?

Would you be willing to give it up for God?