“God appears to us for a purpose, calling us out of ourselves and into his great work of redemption.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – May 22, 2025
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. Acts 26:14-16, NKJV
I remember as a child trying to “force” the Lord to act or appear in some way. “If you’re really there,” I would say, “make that light turn on…now!” Of course, it wasn’t God that I was truly seeking in such moments, but something or someone more akin to a genie in a bottle, a mystical being that would come at my command and fulfill my every request. The God we encounter in Scripture is wonderfully and gloriously unlike any god you or I could possibly imagine or conjure!
When God appeared to his people, it was not as a genie sent to grant their requests but as the divine Lord of creation who invited people into his plans and purposes for the world. In Genesis 12, God tells Abram to “go” so that through him all the nations of the world will be blessed. God sends Moses to Pharaoh in Exodus 3 as an agent of his liberation. And the very same pattern continues all the way to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the one through whom God brings true and complete freedom to his beloved creation. As Jesus says in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
The nearness of God is never without a purpose and is never separated from God’s perfect plan. We profoundly see this when Jesus appeared to Saul, later Paul, on the Road to Damascus, saying, “I have appeared to you for this purpose.” It is good and right to long for the nearness of God and to be close to him. Yet let us not assume that God’s sole purpose in being near to us is for our comfort or our consolation. Yes, he is the God who heals our wounds, but he is the one who calls the shots and directs our steps, and as he heals and restores us, he might appear to us for a purpose, calling us out of ourselves and into his great work of redemption. In the mystery of his ways, God chooses to use us as a means of pouring forth his blessing upon the entire world. Let us never forget this truth and always seek to be attentive to the purpose for which he may be appearing to us.
Prayer
Father, we long to join you in your work of healing and renewal. Give us ears that are quick to listen and hearts that are turned toward you, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Ask the Lord today in prayer, “For what purpose are you drawing near to me in this season of life?”
Related Reading
Genesis 12:1–3; Isaiah 6:8; Matthew 28:18–20
Worship Resource
Jon Guerra: The Lord Is My Shepherd
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