Who Are You, Lord?

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder
against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked letters from him
to the synagogues of Damascus,
so that if he found any who were of the Way,
whether men or women,
he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Acts 9:1-2

Saul, later known as the apostle Paul, was a high-ranking member of the Jewish religious body. He was avid in his love for Judaism, and a staunch defender of it against anyone bringing in any kind of deception or opposition. He searched out the followers of Christ and put them in prison. It was in the process of doing this very thing that he had an encounter with Jesus Christ. He was traveling to Damascus when:

vs 3-5:
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus,
and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.
Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him,
‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...’”

Don’t just read those words. Get into the moment. Think of the emotional shock Paul experienced while being so dramatically encountered by the very one he hated. Imagine his astonishment. He must have sat there dazed as he tried to make sense of what was happening. In his wildest dreams he would never have imagined something like this. He was a proud Jewish leader, and here he was being thrown to the ground by the very one whose name he was trying to destroy. When he got control of himself, he asked:

vs 6:
“So he, trembling and astonished, said,
‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’”

This story is precious to me because I had a similar, though not so dramatic, event take place wherein I very suddenly came to see that what I believed from my youth was NOT the truth. And I had a similar response. It was so shocking that I reeled from it for three days until I could get hold of myself. And then I asked the same question, “Well then, what IS the truth, and who ARE you Lord?”

People believe what they believe oftentimes because that’s what they were taught from their youth. I was taught what I was taught from my youth, and everyone in my life believed the same, all family, friends, teachers, everyone in my life. Like Paul, I was totally sincere in my beliefs. And like Paul, I had an encounter with the Lord that absolutely stunned me as he showed me that what I believed was deception, that most of it just wasn’t true, and a lot of it was outright heresy.

My question to you this day is this:
If the truth is something other than what you believe - would you want to stay as you are, or would you want to know the truth?

It’s one of the hardest questions that can be asked. Don’t answer quickly before evaluating what knowing the truth might cost you. It could cost you alienation from family and friends. But it’s a question every sincere person has to consider in his/her lifetime, otherwise his foundation just might be a foundation of sand.
(Luke 6:47-49).

Meditate on this until you “get it.” It’s serious, it’s the most important question you will ever ask. “Who are you, Lord?”

Ask the Lord to show you the truth, being willing to accept it if it is not what you’ve believed all your life.

You’ll forever rejoice that you did.