Faith Between the Lines

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Acts 9:26-31 (NIV)

The Lord engaged Saul on the road just outside of Damascus. God has changed his heart. God has given him a vision. God has transformed his life. His preaching makes it very easy to discern that the Lord is working in and through his life. Barnabas vouches for Saul: “Brothers, he’s good. He speaks boldly.  He speaks Christ-centered truth.” And that was enough—you would think—to create safe space for Saul. Yet Saul discovers that your gifts can make a whole lot of room for you, but some of that room is not welcoming room.

Whatever Saul was preaching to the Hellenistic Jews, it made them feel so offended, so threatened, so challenged that rather than just turn down the volume of his voice, they’re trying to kill him. They want Saul dead. How deflating that must have felt. It almost seems like a strange way to validate that the Lord has laid His hands on him.

It’s so energy-draining to love the Lord enough to own Him yet be treated so badly because of it. It can be confusing that God begins with such powerful demonstrations of might and strength, only to seemingly leave holes and openings in what ought to be an impenetrable hedge of protection. This allows us to draw closer to God by watching how He strongly exercises His sovereignty in one season, and then, in another season, it looks like God leaves us out to dry.

Why is spiritual growth so hard? Why can’t it be easy to accept the invitation to accept Christ and have everybody around you celebrate that you found Jesus? This can make you become so deflated. That is until you learn that faith is not just the sum total of the content that makes up the sentences, but faith is also how God moves in between the lines. Even if we don’t like the way the sentences are written, we can thank Him for moving in between the lines so that we can end up saying, “What the enemy meant for evil, God has turned for my good.”