Letting God Transform You

Sometimes God’s call on your life is a wrestling match. You sense the Spirit leading you in one direction, but you go in the opposite direction. Job is certainly one example of that in the Bible, but we might not look at Saul, also known as Paul, as another example. We do not know exactly how the Spirit of God was working on Paul’s heart before his transformation to Christ follower, but it is apparent he was doubling down on his resistance to this new way and the thousands who are professing faith in Jesus.

What was going through Saul’s head as he listened to Stephen say, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51, NIV)!” He could see Stephen filled with the Spirit as he cried out, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (7:56).” Even after witnessing this testimony, Saul resisted this new faith in Jesus and remained adamant about stopping the movement: “But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison (8:3).”

What does it take for God to get our attention when we resist his advances, his efforts to direct us toward His will? We may sense the Spirit at work inside of us, directing us, but instead of being obedient, we double down on our resistance. People my even witness to us, and speak into our life, but it only causes us to be even more firm in our resistance. God is pursuing Saul, but he’s not having anything to do with it.

Saul was seeped in the tradition of the Jewish faith and a fervent believer in God, a devout follower of the Jewish faith—”a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6).” He was very religious and saw this new sect of followers of Jesus as a threat to his Jewish faith. So much so that he sought “to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it (Galatians 1:13, NASB).” He was resistant to change and the new direction God was taking His people.

There are times when the old, traditional way of doing things cannot accommodate the new thing God is doing. Jesus talked about this when the Pharisees challenged him about fasting: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins (Mark 2:22).” Sometimes God needs to transform our life in a new way to accommodate his new plans for our life. Such was the case with Saul.

Saul had letters from the high priest to Damascus synagogues stating that, “if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-2).” He was determined to defend his tradition. “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” He is literally stopped in his tracks.

“And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do (Acts 9:5-6, NASB).’” Saul is blinded and must be lead into Damascus. He is suddenly thrust into submission, new wine thrust into new skin now preaching Jesus: “Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God (Acts 9:19-20, NASB).”

This transformative power of our Lord Jesus is still dramatically changing lives today, transforming those who once opposed the gospel into followers of Jesus. How open are you to the new things that God is doing?

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” – Acts 9:15-16, NASB

Answering the Call

This post is part of the “Answering the Call” series. Join me each Tuesday morning as we explore the moment of decision for so many people in the Bible.

© 2024, Chris G. Thelen