“We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’”
Acts 26:14 (NLT)
Saul was on his way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the leading priests to hound Christians in a distant land. A light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shone down on Saul and his companions, and they all fell to the ground. Jesus spoke directly to Saul from the light and said, “I’m Jesus, the one you’ve been persecuting.” Many translations describe Saul’s resistance with the phrase, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
An ox goad was a long wooden rod with a sharp point used to prod oxen while plowing. Kicking against it only hurt the ox. When we fight God, we injure ourselves. It is like swimming upstream or punching a wall in frustration. Now our hand hurts, and we have to repair the wall. Fighting Almighty God is futile. Why resist His power when we can embrace it and move forward with Him?
By persecuting Christians, Saul was persecuting Jesus Himself. When we put our faith in Jesus, we become part of Him, and He becomes part of us. Like John 15 says, He is the vine, and we are His branches. This gives us safety and confidence. When Peter first proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of the living God, Jesus said He would build His church upon that faith, and all the powers of hell would not conquer what He builds. No scheme of man or power of hell can stop what God is building through faith in Jesus.
So today, are you fighting against God? Are you kicking something and hurting yourself, or are you flowing downstream? Are you aligning with the wind of God and letting Him put power to your sails? Like Paul, if you have been resisting God, you can embrace Him today. You can walk with Him. You do not have to swim upstream anymore. Repent and turn around. Jesus will empower you, not with poking and prodding, but with His love and His power through relationship.