Experience: S2 - Day 13

The risk of taking a new path 

Acts 9:23 After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. 24 They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. 25 So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.

26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

28 So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. 30 When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown.

What a turn of events!  The one who was seeking to kill the followers of Jesus is now being sought after by some of the same Jews he was working with just days before, to be killed.

These were confusing times for sure; confusing for Saul, who has had his whole world turned upside down in a matter of three days; confusing for his former colleagues, teachers, and companions who saw him as their strongest ally in the cause against the Jesus followers; confusing for the followers of Jesus who he had been pursuing to kill.

What may have been the hardest for Saul was the fear from the followers of Jesus.  He had chosen to give up his past life for this new life, this new path, and now some of the others who chose that same path were afraid of him.

Thank goodness for Barnabas.  We’ll talk more about him in a couple of weeks, but for now know that we all need a Barnabas who is willing to stick their neck out for us.

Even still, it was too early in Saul’s conversion story for him to be a full-fledged apostle (i.e., one sent).  There were too many questions and too many doubts.  Saul needed some time to mature in his faith.  It didn’t mean God wouldn’t use him; it just meant he needed some time at the feet of Jesus so that his witness would come not from a moment but from a life of devotion.

There are times when you and I need to spend more time at the feet of Jesus, too.  It doesn’t mean Jesus won’t use us along the way; it just means that we need to make sure that for all the things we’re doing for Jesus, we are also doing them with Jesus.  We need that day in, day out, walk with Him to feed our souls so that we can live out of the overflow of our hearts.

Know that God will never miss an opportunity to use what we’re willing to give to be a blessing to others, but sometimes, we need to receive God’s blessing to be blessed and share it with others.

Questions:

1. What are some of the ways you spend time with Jesus that are most meaningful to you? 
2. Is there a special place to you in your faith? Like Saul’s Damascus experience, is there a place you go that helps you connect with your story?
3. Have others ever doubted your faith journey, or persecuted you in any way, for what you believe?