Guidance

In any transitional time of life the question is always, “What will I do next?” This may be a major transition like retirement, graduation from college, or the beginning of a new job. It may be every week. For instance, it is Friday afternoon and you think, “What will I do this weekend?” We wonder, “What will I do with my life? What will I do next?”

Clarity and courage are both vitally important to knowing what you are going to do in the future. If there is clarity, you know what you should do, but without courage it is impotent, knowledge without action. You may have courage, but no clarity. You are willing to do something, but don’t know what that something is. You need both. You need the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to do it. Where does guidance from God come from? Guidance, both clarity and courage, come from knowing two things, knowing who God is and knowing what He wants.

In Acts 22 the Apostle Paul is making his defense. He is actually being a witness. He had been the prosecution when he persecuted the church of Christ. Then he came face to face with the living Lord Jesus and now was a witness. It appears as if he is making a defense, but he is really going on the offense. He is a witness about what he knows about this living Jesus.

As he gives his testimony, two questions emerge that give great clarity. In verse 8 he says, “Who art thou, Lord?” and in verse 10 he says, “What shall I do, Lord?” He is recounting his coming to Christ when he was on the road to Damascus headed to persecute Christians. He is giving this testimony in his defense, an explanation of the message he is giving. He recounts the story and says, “I was on this road and a light from heaven shown round about me and I fell on the ground.” He fell on his face and asked, “Who art thou, Lord?”

So, if I am going to have guidance, I first need to know who God is. The Lord is personal and powerful. He is personal. When Paul asked who Jesus was, Jesus responded, “I am Jesus of Nazareth.” That mores Him in historic place. “Whom thou persecuteth” is much more transcendent. Paul, who was still Saul at this point, thought he was persecuting a group of rag tag Christians. He wasn’t. He was persecuting the Christ of the Christians. He was living and He confronted Saul on the way to Damascus. He is personal.

Why persecutes thou me? Saul didn’t intend to persecute someone he thought was dead. But that is exactly what was happening, and Jesus so closely aligned himself with His followers that He said, “Why do you persecute me?” Later on, Saul is called a brother. When Ananias was sent by God to encourage this new convert, he called him Brother Saul. So, the Lord is personal.

The Lord is also powerful. In the account in Acts 9, which Paul is recounting, Jesus said, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” When you fight God, you literally fight the universe. That may sound like an overstatement, but it is true. Think about Moses and Pharoah. Moses said, “Who am I that I should lead your people?” yet Moses was powerful because he obeyed God. The sea parted for Moses and the people because God did it.

On the other hand, you have this mighty Pharaoh, but he lost everything because he fought against the God of creation. There is the account of Sisera in Judges 4-5 that say the stars of heaven fought against Sisera. Jonah rebelled against God, and the Bible says that God prepared a storm, a fish, and a gourd. God is preparing the whole way. He is in charge. So, this Lord whom Paul is addressing is both personal and powerful.

I can either fight against or ally myself with the God of the universe. When I fight God, I fight all creation. You may feel like you are trying to do what is right and swimming against the tide. You are swimming against the tide, but the power is not Rome, it is God. Rome thought it was judging Paul. The Jewish zealots thought they were judging Paul as he was Jewish. But these people rejected the Lord Jesus. Jew and Gentile can fight the Lord Jesus and Jew and Gentile can come in submission to Him and receive forgiveness through His sacrifice on the cross. So, who art thou Lord? He is personal and powerful.

The second question Paul asked is, “What wilt thou have me to do?” The Lord’s guidance is both immediate and expansive. As far as immediate, when Saul had asked, “What shall I do?” Jesus said to him, “Arise and go.” He was to go to Damascus and there he would be told what to do. Sometimes we want to do great things for God and are not willing to do what is right in front of our nose. We want to be pious and spiritual and think about God’s leading in ten years, but we are not willing to do the little things that are not really little because they are acts of obedience.

In Paul’s case, he was baptized shortly after he came to Christ. That was an act of obedience. I’m not saved when I am baptized, but I should be baptized if I am saved as an act of obedience. So, He says, “Go” and in verse 10 it continues, “There it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.” God has a big picture, but I don’t have to know the big picture to know that there is one. In Acts 22:21 Jesus says, “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” So, God’s will is both immediate and expansive.

God is going to put people in your way. No one knows much about Ananias except that he was devout, obeyed the Lord, and encouraged Saul when he was a young convert. Paul mentioned Stephen, who was martyred for the cause of Christ, and Saul was at that event holding the coats of those who killed Stephen. Was that the end of the story? No, it was the beginning of the story. You have no idea how much your act of obedience today will accomplish in the days ahead through the power of the risen Christ.

So, if you want clarity, courage, and guidance, it comes from knowing who God is, personal and powerful, and what He wants, immediate and expansive. I don’t have to know all the answers if I know the one who does. That one loves me, died for me, and stands ready and willing to help me do whatever I do in submission to Him.