23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him,…
When you don’t know how to answer someone’s arguments, the answer is often persecution. One day the Jews were overjoyed to have Saul running around killing Jesus-followers. Now they can’t get him to shut up. The problem is that Saul has switched sides. And they are not able to match his ability to convince people from the Scriptures the truth of the Gospel. And they are very afraid. And they should be. The power of one person filled and yielded to the Spirit can stand against any foe. Fighting against Saul was fighting against God Himself. And nothing can stand against God. Down through the ages there have been temporary victories for those who opposed the Gospel. But the truth of the Gospel will prevail. They might have been able to kill Saul, but God would raise up another insignificant mouthpiece and continue the spread of the truth. God doesn’t need intellectual powerhouses, but He will use them. What the Lord really needs, and which we all have, is availability. We can give ourselves fully and let the Lord lead us and work through us. If we are yielded, then it will be His power, not ours, at work. But we have to get in the habit of yielding to the Lord and not to our sinful nature. The Jews were struggling with the truth of what Saul was saying, and they chose to reject that truth. They continued to yield to what they had known and with what they were comfortable. They chose the path of least resistance. The life of a believer is very seldom the past of least resistance. The easy path is usually the path of sin. Obedience often requires us to move against the stream, against the culture, against the ‘normal.’ That is why so many give up following, because they are more worried about fitting in than about obedience and eternal life. Are you working to ‘fit in’?
The Arnold Journey 