All of the thin places and thin
times we’ve looked at have been instances when the Lord interrupted lives and
came close to breathe new life into ministry. Jacob in his dream and while
wrestling with God had his life refocused to become a real leader. Elijah,
hearing the still small voice of God, was reassured and empowered. Moses at the
burning bush found himself saying ‘yes’ to a great change in his life and in
the history of the world.
In the New Testament, there are
thin times and places. One of these is the conversion of Saul (soon to be Paul).
The zealous young Pharisee is on his way to further persecute the heretical
sect of Judaism (in his mind at least) in Damascus. He planned “that if he found
any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to
Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:2).
This was at least a 5 day
journey. For most of the trip it was uneventful, boring even. Then, “as he was going
along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around
him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what
you are to do.’” (Acts 9:3-6)
Saul finds himself confronted by
the Living God who he thought he was serving by persecuting the “Way”. Sometimes,
God has to get our attention with a 2 x 4, or a light from heaven. Not only is
he knocked to the ground, Saul is struck blind, “so they led him by the hand and brought him
into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor
drank.” (Acts 9:8b-9) He is made dependent on others to learn true dependence on God.
The other person in this story
who finds himself confronted by God is Ananias, already a convert to the ‘Way’
who lived in Damascus. He has a vision in which “’The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to
the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus
named Saul. At this moment he is praying,
and he has seen in a vision a man
named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his
sight.’” (Acts 9:10-12)
Imagine
how Ananias felt. God has asked him to go to an enemy of the fledgling church.
He argues, “Lord, I have heard from many
about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind
all who invoke your name.” (Acts 9:13-14)
Like with Moses generations earlier, God reassures his chosen instrument and
sends him out, “Go, for he is an
instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and
before the people of Israel; I myself will
show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15-16) Ananias, no doubt with fear and trembling, goes to see Saul. He trusts his Lord enough to act even when common sense would say 'this could be a trap'. Are there times when you have acted out of faith even when, by human standards, the task seems dangerous or impossible?
The
two men who have been confronted by God now come together and the direction of
the early life of the church is set. “Ananias
went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you
may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes,
and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after
taking some food, he regained his strength.”
(Acts 9:17-19) Adversaries are made friends and the Saul's old way of looking at his faith is transformed into living faith in the new 'Way.' Isn't it amazing what God can do when we obey?
God
often asks us to do things we may not feel strong enough, or wise enough, or
powerful enough, or any number of other excuses. As Ananias discovered, you
cannot say ‘no’ to God. The Lord has a plan for our lives that we don’t
necessarily understand. God challenges us and even knocks us off our feet in
order to get our attention. We can say ‘no’ and even try to hide (like Jonah),
but God’s love for us won’t leave us alone. No matter how much we argue, God
will keep urging and nudging until we do offer our life to God’s service. The
Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson (1859-1907) gives a poetic turn to this
seeking by God’s love and our flight from it (this is a much abridged version,
you can find the whole poem online):
I fled Him,
down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I
fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I
hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic
glooms of chasmed fears,
From
those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic
instancy,
They beat--and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet--
"All things betray thee,
who betrayest Me."
I pleaded, outlaw-wise,…
Still with
unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic
instancy,
Came on the following Feet,
And a Voice above their
beat--
"Naught shelters thee, who
wilt not shelter Me."
…
Now of that
long pursuit
Comes on at hand the bruit;
That Voice is round me like a
bursting sea:
"And is thy earth so
marred,
Shattered in shard on shard?
Lo, all things fly thee, for
thou fliest Me!
Strange, piteous, futile thing,
Wherefore
should any set thee love apart?
Seeing
none but I makes much of naught," He said,
"And
human love needs human meriting,
How hast thou merited--
Of
all man's clotted clay rhe dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How
little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom
wilt thou find to love ignoble thee
Save Me, save only Me?
All
which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms.
But
just that thou might'st seek it in my arms.
All which thy child's mistake
Fancies
as lost, I have stored for the at home;
Rise, clasp My hand, and
come!"
Halts by me that footfall;
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade
of His hand, outstreched caressingly?
"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou
dravest love from thee, who dravest Me."
God loved Saul so much that God had to get his attention by striking him blind. God loved Ananias so much that God helped him move past fear to ministry. God loves Francis Thompsons's poetic character so much that God follows until the protagonist finds that "I am He Whom thou seekest." God loves you and me so much that God is there in good times and bad and even, maybe esp., when God gets our attention! Thanks be to God that God is persistent!
Next time we will look at God present in our
thanks-giving-when we know the Holy is near and rejoice.