Why bother? In the Word 6-1-15

Image result for why bother because GodWhy bother? In the Word 6-1-15

When life does not go how we thought it should, why bother continuing on the same path to righteousness?

…Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” Philippians 3:12-13

Take a look at Saul, a Jewish Roman whom God chose to change the path he walked to bring so many words to us.

Saul was a ‘good man’ in his own eyes if no one else’s. He tried to do what his scriptures told him were right. He tried to follow the Law of Moses. Things were going along so perfectly how he thought they should go. He thought the Believers of the Way were blasphemers and were causing trouble against God.  He received permissions and funding to do away with them and punish them for being against what he thought was the truth. He was wrong.
Then Jesus stepped in his path and corrected the wrongs.

 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 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.” 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.”
 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 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 DamascusAnd he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:5-8
“Lord, what do You want me to do?” The most important choice of words Saul could have asked for in his humbleness of heart God changed his path to the Truth.

Jesus changed his name to Paul,  In Hebrew the meaning of the name Saul is: 'Asked for; inquired of God.' Paul on the other hand means 'little or small'. Saul thought he was 'all that' but God showed him that he was small in comparison to what he thought. He was humbled from whom he thought he was, and brought low to the point of prison, beatings near death, and many other sufferings in order to share the Truth.
God used every part of his training; Saul was trained well as the son of a Pharisee. He knew the law and the prophets.
Then he said:  “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’  So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ “And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid,[a] but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.  So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’  And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.Acts 22:3-11
Sometimes even when we think we are doing the right thing, we are not. Sometimes we are not the best judge of what is right. That is why we bother to follow Jesus, that I why we bother to listen to the Holy Spirit when we read the Bible and pray. If all we did was study the words in the Bible as any other book we might be able to understand some of it but without the Holy Spirit as our guide we would not understand the why, the where and the what now’s of the Word of God. 
God knew Paul would lead many people in his life time and He knew that he meant well, God knows our hearts after all. He knows the trouble you ware walking through today and He knows why you should bother to pay attention when He tells you to listen up!
For He knows the plans He has for you… Jeremiah 29:11 tells us. He knows where He is sending you and why
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Sometimes it does not feel like it, or appear like things are turning out like we think they should have. Many of us have had dreams; we planned to achieve great things that have always seemed just out of reach. God knows our hearts, He knows our desires and if we keep going He will give us those desires in His time, in His way. Though we are told by God’s Word that our ways are not His ways; He will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. Perhaps the delay is in not looking for His way to achieve what we desire? Perhaps we are going about things our own way, trying to be great in God’s kingdom by doing what we think is right?
Paul found out He had to look to Jesus to find the directions and stop trying to do things his own way, We need to remember that even if it looks right in our own eyes God has way better eyesight!
God has great plans for you today, for me too. I need to put my trust in Him to bring it to pass His way, not mine. His timing is perfect.

So why bother? Because He knows the plans and He knows what He will do if we just humble ourselves before Him. 
 
Dear Heavenly Father, Help us all to keep our faith in Your directions. Blind us to the things of the world that would draw us from the designs you have laid out for us to follow. Keep us close that we may hear your voice speaking to us and guiding us through the paths of life to the victory of Your plans for us. In Jesus name, amen.

Suggested reading: Acts 22:1-30, Jeremiah 29:1-22, and Philippians 3:1-21