A Day in the Life
“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 26:16
When I sit with Paul’s testimony in Acts 26, I’m always struck by how little of it feels planned. Nothing about the road to Damascus fit neatly into Paul’s intentions for that day. He was convinced he was serving God, confident in his theology, disciplined in his obedience, and sincere in his zeal. And yet Jesus did not meet Paul to affirm his direction, but to interrupt it. That interruption did not begin Paul’s story with God; it revealed it. Scripture makes clear that God had been at work in Paul’s life long before Paul ever acknowledged Christ. As Jeremiah hears the Lord say, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5), and as the psalmist confesses, “You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). God’s encounter with Paul was not a reaction—it was a revelation.
What becomes clear as I reflect on this moment is that Jesus already knew Paul’s assignment before Paul ever knew Jesus as Lord. Acts 9:15 tells us that Paul was “a chosen vessel” long before he understood what that meant. Yet Jesus withheld clarity until surrender came first. Paul’s knowledge, influence, and discipline were real, but they were misdirected. His sincerity did not protect him from being sincerely wrong. This is a sobering reminder for me and for anyone serious about faith: good intentions are not the same as alignment with God’s activity. Oswald Chambers once wrote, “The one great need is not to do things for God, but to believe in Him.” Paul had been doing much for God, but he had not yet yielded to God.
Jesus’ pattern in Paul’s life reveals something essential about divine encounters. God does not come to negotiate our plans or gather input on what we would like to accomplish. He comes to disclose what He is already doing and to invite our participation. When Jesus appears to Paul, He says, in effect, This is why I have appeared to you. The Greek carries the sense of intentional manifestation—this encounter has a purpose beyond the moment. God never speaks merely to inform; He speaks to transform. Revelation always carries responsibility. As theologian Henry Blackaby famously observed, “God reveals His will to us so that we can join Him where He is at work.” That truth reshapes how I approach prayer and Scripture. If I’m only seeking encouragement or reassurance, I may miss the deeper call to obedience.
This leads me to ask the question the study presses gently but firmly: Am I prepared to meet God today? Paul’s immediate response to Jesus was not self-defense or delay, but surrender: “What shall I do, Lord?” That question signals a turning point from control to obedience. Encounters with God demand adjustment. Jesus does not fit Himself into our lives; He reorients our lives around His lordship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer captured this reality with stark clarity when he wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” That death is not annihilation but realignment—the laying down of self-directed purpose in order to receive God-directed calling.
As I walk through a “day in the life” shaped by Jesus, I’m reminded that God’s activity often precedes my awareness. He is already at work in the people I will meet, the conversations I will have, and the decisions I will face. The question is not whether God will speak, but whether I am ready to respond. God does not reveal truth simply to expand my understanding; He reveals truth to enlist my obedience. Every genuine encounter with Christ carries an invitation to participate in His redemptive work, sometimes in ways that disrupt comfort and challenge assumptions.
So today, I want to approach God with honesty and readiness. I don’t want to seek His voice unless I am willing to follow His direction. Like Paul, I want to rise, stand on my feet, and accept that Jesus may reveal not only what I have seen, but what He has yet to reveal. Encounters with God are never ends in themselves—they are beginnings. They mark the moment when our lives become witnesses, shaped not by our plans, but by His purpose.
For further reflection on discerning God’s activity and responding in obedience, see this thoughtful article from Christianity Today:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/june/how-to-discern-gods-will.html
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