“Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.” – Acts 9:8
Saul was traveling to Damascus, intending to persecute Christians. He thought he was doing the right thing, defending his faith.
But while he was on the journey with his buddies, there was a light so bright and blinding that each man immediately fell to his knees.
As Saul breathed in the dust of the ground, he heard a loud voice, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
When Saul asks who he’s speaking to, the same voice replies. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
But as Saul is scrambling to his feet, he has a sickening realization. He can no longer see. The world is all darkness and he feels around, his stomach lurching.
His buddies take Saul by the hand and lead him to Damascus. After three days of fasting and prayer, a man arrives at the house where Saul is. He lays hands on Saul and prays for him.
After the prayer, Saul opens his eyes and he can see again. How different the world must have looked to him! Suddenly, he could see things clearly that he never had before.
Sometimes, God takes things from our lives so we can clearly see Him. Maybe God has taken your relationship, your job, or your home. Rest assured, God has not taken these things from you to be cruel—He’s taken them because He longs for you to rely on Him, to show you His faithful love.
Many of us have a dream or a vision of what life would have to look like for us to be happy, successful or feel accomplished. Maybe you can relate to not feeling complete until you have accomplished something, gaining a certain financial goal or maybe even finding a spouse.
Believers are often misguided by the worlds “dreams” and think the bill of goods they have been sold by commercials and media sets the standard for how life is “supposed to be.”
We add things to our lives that we think we need to accomplish who we want to be. Often those things come with debt, wasteful spending, or giving our time and attention to things that are not directly related to God.
These things can not only change our ability to see and hear God clearly but it distorts how we see ourselves. When our satisfaction comes from the flesh then we will find out eventually that we are never satisfied.
Our make up is never perfect, or tv is never big enough, and our bank account can always be bigger. Warren Buffet, one of the most wealthy person alive was once asked “You have billions of dollars and can’t possible spend it all yourself, Warren how much is enough. To which he replied “Just a little more.”
If we never see that God is satisfied with us in simplicity we can spend a life striving to gain peoples approval and miss the approval that is ultimately important: God’s.
He tells us our love for Him is shown through our obedience and His love for us is shown through His sacrifice. In fact the Bible says there is no greater love than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus told us “if you love me keep my commandments.”
And this is what he asks of us that we love him enough to walk in his ways, and when we do we find communion with God. We find He satisfies and his ways are higher than our ways. Let us allow our Holy Spirit to prioritize things in life so we feel fulfilled in the “life more abundantly” Jesus said he came to give us.
So then how do we define abundant? Is it money, friends, likes, shares, followers? What if His abundance is the opposite of how we define it today? What things in your life do you see as abundance but may in fact be distraction.
God, please remove from my life everything that distracts me and prevents me from seeing You clearly. I want to know You more, to love You deeply, just as You love me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
