Stretching, struggling or stepping out ...

Matthew 4:18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

 

 

⁹ “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.¹² “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you;

Paul thought he was serving God. God said is it hard for you to kick against the goads. That's a term we have a hard time relating to, but was well understood in Paul's time. Goads are sharp pointy sticks that are used to direct an ox or beast of burden, to keep them on a straight path. As long as they go in the right direction there is no need for the goads. But kicking against those goads will be a difficult and painful experience. Once Saul changed his direction and followed God's path for him, he was changed. Paul was changed and went where God told him to go and did what God told him to do and Paul who had to let go of evrything he knew to be changed, then changed the world.

There are basically two possible results of our resisting God and not moving into what He is calling us to. The first is the worst. He may call some one else to do the job He has for us. In judges 4 we see a man who is called to do a work for God, but because he is fearful and enlists the help of Deborah a prophet see what happens.Judges 4:9 She said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

The other possible result is that God will have His way both in His work and in you. Think of the familiar story of Jonah. Jonah 1: The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” ³ But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.⁴ The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up...¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.¹⁷ And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Where did that great fish spit Jonah back out. On the shores of Nineveh. Jonah's resistance didn't change God's plan. It simply delayed it and made for a difficult time in Jonah's life.

In much the same way, when God delivered His people, the nation of Israel from Egypt, He wanted to move them from a place of bondage and dependence into their inheiritence, the promised land. Because of the comfort that the people had, even in bondage many wanted to return to Egypt rather than follow God. It took  40 years and an entire lost generation for God to get the Israelites to the place where they depended on Him, let go of all they held on to and walked into their destiny.

Where is God calling you right now? Don't struggle, just let go. Jesus says in Matthew 11:29 ^"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

God can't release us into all He has for us until we let go.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, today I determine to let go of all that I hold on to. I surrender myself to you, trusting you, knowing that in my own strength I can do very little of value, knowing that your grace is sufficient and your strength is made perfect in my weakness. I no longer want to resist what you have. Release me I pray into my inheiritence and my destiny in You.    

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