Persecution Cannot Defeat

February 9, 2021

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.”

~Acts 9:5~

When Saul (a.k.a Paul) was dropped to His knees to the glory of the Lord's presence on the road to Damascus, he immediately recognized Him to be sovereign and above all that he ever knew. He addressed Him as Lord right then and there. Jesus came to show him just exactly what he was doing by persecuting His people. The imagery in Jesus' description is so incredible to me. Jesus says, "it is hard for you to kick against the goads." Goads of course are long poles or sticks with a pointed piece of iron fastened to one end. These being used to urge on oxen for plowing. If the oxen pushed back against the goads in rebellion of moving forward it would hurt them a lot more then the man holding the goad. Paul spent a lot of his time persecuting the very one who was reaching to lead Him. "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison." (Acts 8:3)

What Paul was actually doing was damaging him more then the ones he was persecuting. When we are being rejected and persecuted while truely following the Lord Jesus, it will end up being more detrimental to those who are rebelling then those who are being torn for their faith. The Lord is always aware and watching; "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord , And He ponders all his paths." (Proverbs 5:21)

Jesus sees every step we take, every judgemental word we speak and every act of rebellion we choose to take. In fact, He not only sees it, He feels it. Like a heart of a parent who watches their child rebel, His heart weeps as He watches and feels His own creation persecuting Him. Just as clearly as God heard the blood of Abel crying out to Him from the ground, " And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground."(Genesis 4:10), He hears every single cry, torment, neglect and backlash from those who persecute the faithful.

You can imagine the pain God feels when His own people decide to voluntarily kick against the goads in rebellion. When Jesus tells Paul this, He is naming him a stubborn rebellious man who is only hurting himself more. He is not so much condemning him as He is warning him. Jesus basically tells Paul to stop hurting himself and move forward with Him instead. What an amazing gift Paul received in that moment! "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies."

(Psalms 25:10)

Jesus testified to Paul in that moment what Paul was doing to Him and Paul feared the Lord and grabbed ahold of His mercy. There are two messages in this devotion today. One beings said; rebellion towards God and His people will only hurt you more. Second, those who are being hurt by rebellious people have comfort in knowing nothing can truely harm them as God always has the last word. When we are undergoing persecution or rejection for our faith, we can rest assured that Jesus sees it and feels it; nothing will go unsaid or unpunished for the wicked who choose to continue in this way. "The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish."

(Proverbs 10:28)

There is a great hope in feeling abandoned or hurt by others for our love for Jesus. He endures with us. He feels our pain. He weeps with us as scripture as proven; "Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

His judgement is a raging fire that cannot be quenched; "but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." (Hebrews 10:27)

The pain we decide to cause on others will have its effect on us more in the end. The pain we receive from others will have its biggest benefit in the end. We get to choose our path. God doesnt force us into it, just as He allowed Paul to choose his path in this moment. Paul chose right and now we have amazing teachings through the Holy Spirit working through him as he kept the faith. He knew that if he had decided otherwise he would of went back to being nothing more then a stubborn oxen kicking against the goads in rebellion against God, covering himself in wounds he could not see until his time would of been up on earth.

We accomplish so much as we suffer for Christ. For we are one Body and one Spirit. We are His and He is ours. What so ever we shall endure will not go without justification.

"You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you."

(Deuteronomy 16:20)

We will come out victorious for doing so.

Paul knew what he was officially pushing towards when he began to make Jesus his Lord and give up his rebellion; "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

Paul stopped pressing into the goads that were causing distruction for him and began pressing into Jesus. He felt much persecution and rejection after this, yet he pressed on knowing this was the only Way to go that benefitted him and the kingdom he grew to know more about. Let us not become discouraged when we come into persecution and take comfort as we can endure for good reason. For nothing, except our own free will, can seperate us from God.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for your beautiful spoken word. It teaches me so much on decisions I can make and how I can be comforted during backlash I may feel. Just as Paul, you have given me the ultimate gift of life, the choice to follow you or continue to rebel. I am forever thankful for the way You personally stepped out to reach me. I completely submit my body, soul and spirit to You. I follow You wherever You need me to go. I shall do what so ever You ask of me to do, for I know Your glory is behind every moment of it. Praises to You, my King, who sits on the throne above all of the earth and judges the wicked and sets the captives free! I lift a special prayer to those of my brothers and sisters all over the world who are being heavily persecuted in this moment for their faith. Fill their bodies with strength, their hearts with peace and let Your presence be strong beside them. You deserve all honor for Your patience with so much ongoing sin happening right now. I pray more people come to know You just as Paul did, just as I did. I speak life and blessings over this day and I receive divine wisdom on how to see, hear, think and speak like You. It is all in Your glorious Name I pray this, Yeshua Messiah. Amen.