Focus

Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.

Read

Acts 22:2-16 (NRSV)

When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said:

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

“While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’ Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.
“A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me; and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’

Reflect

One of the most amazing transformations of a human being is told in this chapter of Acts. Saul became Paul. He stopped persecuting Christians to become perhaps the greatest missionary who has ever lived. God chooses the most unlikely people to do the most amazing things. God sees all the possibilities within us.

Never tell yourself that you are worthless or useless. God looks at the core of your being and knows all that you are capable of being. God is aware of our weaknesses and faults, but sees beyond them. God sees each of us as unique with special strengths and gifts. God loves us more than we can ever imagine. God never gives up on us. When we are open to God, God will lead us where we are to go.

We may never experience Jesus directly speaking to us in the dramatic way Paul did. When our hearts are open, we find we become aware of the many subtle ways God speaks to us. God speaks to us through dreams, intuitions, the Bible, and many other ways. I have found that if a thought comes from God, it will be confirmed in some way.

Pray

Awesome God, please help me to hear you when you are speaking to me. Help me to calm the constant internal chatter of my mind so that I can truly hear you. Thank you for guiding me. Amen.

Go with God.