ESOCS Devotional 20 July 2024 – Surrendering to the Will and Purpose of God
MEMORY VERSE: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Acts 9:6 KJV
TEXT: ACTS 9:1-19
Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 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.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
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.”
6 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.”
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children[c] of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord [d]Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
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Saul was, as he described himself, a Hebrew of Hebrews (Phil. 3:5). He thought himself as a great man. He was born in Tarsus; yet, he studied under and was thoroughly trained in the law by Gamaliel— one of Israel’s most respected and notable members of the religious senate. Saul became so zealous as a religious Jew that he rose to the ranks of becoming a Pharisee at a relatively young age— something not many Jews in his day could brag about. He was not satisfied to rid Jerusalem of the followers of Jesus, but asked the chief priests for permission to persecute even those who had fled to Damascus, to extradite them and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial. They readily assented to this request. They had found in this Saul of Tarsus the kind of man, which they needed to stamp out Christianity at its birth.
Saul was not searching for the Lord or for salvation. The Lord did not appear to Saul and plead, but rather, the glorified Jesus called Saul’s name twice, knocked the man to the ground and completely overpowered him. He struck him blind. Then Jesus gave him very direct orders about what he had to do next. How much choice did Saul have? Saul was God’s chosen instrument to fulfill a very definite task: “to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (v 15). Already, God had ordained that Saul would suffer much for His name’s sake (v 16). “So, then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9:16 NKJV).
Saul’s response shows that he knew somebody — someone to whom respect is due, for he answered, “Who are you, Lord?” (v 5). Jesus spoke to Saul, as one in solidarity with those whom he persecuted: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting”; and in complete surrender, he uttered, “Lord, what should I do?”
Saul, who had been blinded by God’s revelatory disruption of his journey, is told to continue on into Damascus where he will be given further instructions. This begins a faith walk for Saul. He will go blind, being led by his companions, into the city.
The Lord also appeared to Ananias in a vision, instructing him too to “get up and go” and lay his hands upon Saul of Tarsus (vv. 10-12). Ananias is also walking by blind faith, believing that his vision is truly from God, that Saul had indeed been transformed into a friend of the New Way.
Saul on the one hand surrendered to God’s purpose and Ananias on the other hand surrendered to God’s will and purpose. We are therefore enjoined to surrender to God’s will and purpose in the ministry and not hinder it with our zeal to keep traditions and dogma, doing our own will like Saul did before conversion or by “the precepts of men” (Isa. 29:13).
- Have you been unknowingly disrupting the will and purpose of God by being blindly religious?
- Gracious Father, give me the grace to wholeheartedly surrender to your will and purpose, make me a vessel for the Kingdom, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Further Reading: Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Ezekiel 36:1-15; Mark 15:33-end
ESOCS Devotional 20 July 2024
