November 20
Bible Reading: Acts 26:12-15
Acts 26:14, ”It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
Recently one of my hospice patients teasingly shared with me she was in an ongoing discussion with God about her circumstances, but that so far, He had changed nothing. Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a similar “Job-like” situation. But in the end no one has ever won an argument with God.
Plowing at night through rough, foggy seas, a battleship’s radar suddenly indicates an object directly in its path. The ship’s captain sends a radio signal, “We are on a collision course. Advise you to change course 10 degrees north.” A response crackles over the radio: “Negative. We advise you to change course 10 degrees south.” The captain can now see a blinking light from the approaching object. Perturbed, he bellows a reply: “I’m a ship’s captain. Change course 10 degrees north, now!” “I’m a seaman second class,” comes the reply. “Advise that you change course 10 degrees south to avoid imminent collision.” The captain is furious. He blurts another command: “This is a battleship! Change your course immediately!” Back comes the calm reply: “This is a lighthouse.” The battleship changed course.
Jesus confronted Saul, admonishing him that “it is hard for (him) to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). A goad was a stick with a sharp point on the end to prod an ox when plowing. The farmer would prick the animal with the goad to steer it in a certain direction. If the animal kicked against the goad, it would be driven even further into the flesh, causing more pain. Saul was passionately going his own way in his fight against Christianity, but not in the direction God wanted for him to go. In fact, Saul’s path was hopeless inasmuch as Jesus had promised to build His church despite all the devil’s opposition. The esteemed Gamaliel wisely argued that if the cause of the Christians was from God, then those opposing it would find themselves “fighting against God” (Acts 5:39). And that’s exactly where Saul found himself.
Job argued with God. The Psalmists sometimes questioned God about things. Jonah dismissed God’s command and headed in the opposite direction. The problem with resisting God is that He always gets His way in the end, and kicking against His goads is painful. Come to think of it, it’s a good thing that God has His goads—lest we wander unimpeded.
“I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.” – Psalm 119:76
HE LIFTED ME
In loving kindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me.
Refrain:
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me,
From shades of night to plains of light,
O praise His name, He lifted me!
He called me long before I heard,
Before my sinful heart was stirred,
But when I took Him at His word,
Forgiven He lifted me. [Refrain]
His brow was pierced with many a thorn,
His hands by cruel nails were torn,
When from my guilt and grief, forlorn,
In love He lifted me. [Refrain]
Now on a higher plane I dwell,
And with my soul I know ’tis well;
Yet how or why, I cannot tell,
He should have lifted me. [Refrain]
LookingtoJesus 