“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 
Acts 9:13-16

---

I retired from a job that brought me great satisfaction for 39 years. I continued teaching teachers in college until that was the end of that. God asked me to be a section leader at Willow for a time, until that was the end of that. He asked me to write three books, and that was the end of that. I mourned the loss of all these things.  

Have you ever had to change everything about everything in your life? God met Saul on the road to Damascus. Saul was a Pharisee who knew religious law and enjoyed trying to rid the world of the Christ-followers in Jerusalem.

Yet God chose Saul (later known as Paul), told him he would change everything about everything, and that he would suffer greatly. God would change the world through Paul—his words in the Bible and his new life on Earth. 

Paul obeyed God and suffered imprisonment, rejection, and a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), a condition that religious scholars have debated for centuries. It could have been emotional or maybe even physical. Paul himself alludes to the “thorn” keeping him humble in spirit and not conceited. In today’s passage, God tells His servant, Ananias, that Paul would indeed suffer because of the new mission God had for him. In the process, Paul had to tank his reputation as a strong leader of the law.

As I neared the end of my career, God gave me new opportunities. I became a teacher of teachers. I found joy speaking into a microphone, sharing what I’d learned. Looking back, I can see how pride had crept in—how I began to measure my worth by my ability and influence.

Now, in retirement, I find myself helping people in quieter ways. Less visible. More ordinary. Sometimes I grieve the loss of what once was.

And when the melancholy comes, I go to God’s Word. And I am reminded: All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Again, God graciously shows me how pride is the source of so much of the yuck in my life, and I bow my head in confession to God, who loves me (and you!) beyond reason.

Next Steps

Has God ever asked you to give up something to follow His path? Has He ever told you that you will suffer for His cause? You are not alone. He promises to be with you forever, until the end of the age, which is very good news. Put this song on your list: Never Alone