Acts 26:14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’“
Keeping Sharp Sticks!
When the sting of Sin’s sword
no more gains one’s reaction…
When the soul barely shrugs
with each pained interaction…
Then calloused distractions
have conquered their host!
Or! So they assume…as they
steal someone’s hopes.
So don’t round off the edges
at questionable turns.
Do not make the points dull
which were meant to be stern!
For such “pointed sticks”
our GOD uses for training.
Should we make them round
thus for Comfort creating…
Then we’re bound for trouble!
Yet we may not sense it
so move far from darkness…
once GOD’s guide rails prick you!
As HIServant thankful for HIS sharpened points of correction which have surely guided me thus far,
Whitney
Devotional: Proverbs 10:17 “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects correction leads others astray.”
GOD’s Guide Rails could have been the title for this devotional but guard or even guard rails, while they redirect…they’re not sharp.
But as the LORD GOD showed Saul in Acts 26:14 above, the wickedness he was doing was going to meet with life changing, goad-like correction.
“A goad in the Bible was a long, sharp stick used to guide oxen while plowing, with a pointed end to prod the animal and a spade to clear the plowshare.”
So by example, GOD tells Saul through a very “pointed” encounter that he was not going to be allowed to continue down the path he was on…which was persecuting CHRISTians.
But what if GOD had only nudged him? Hmmm?
What if GOD had only nudged you gently in life?
Would you have boldly and daily chosen the path HE was calling you to?
Speaking only for myself, I would not have.
Would love to say differently but I chose my own way too often and rounded far too many goads GOD was using to transform me.
As such, my encouragement to one and all, self mostly.
Instantly turn from the paths which gain you harsh correction and remain far from them lest you grow too calloused as well!
Amen and amen.
2CJC 