Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who art Thou, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the goads.” KJ21

Goads here in the Greek is kentron, an iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden, hence the proverb, “to kick against the goad”, i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary)

I’ve known this for some time but today I saw it in a new light. It is so simple I have no excuse for not having seen this before. Saul, soon to become Paul, is the ox. The yoke under which he is burdened is the law. (ref. Philippians 3:6) Saul feels the goad, is driven by his Master, but due to the restrictive nature of his yoke cannot see who it is that is goading him on.

Jesus Christ is the driving force behind the law. When Saul was knocked off his horse on the way to Damascus to persecute followers of the way, Saul recognized the authority which put him on the ground, calling him Lord. Even so, Saul did not know his Lord was this Jesus whom he had never met.

I see a kind of irony in that Saul was removed from a beast of burden at the same moment that his yoke was removed from him. All Saul’s life he had been driven to this moment. His training in the law would become invaluable in his ministry. He would go into synagogues and reason with Jews from the scriptures to show them that Christ was the driving force behind the scriptures and his very life.

I can see that events of my life brought me to that appointed time when Jesus revealed Himself to me. Have you met Jesus? Are the circumstances of your life leading you to a divine appointment? Will you recognize Him as Lord?

Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

I woke up yesterday with this address, Ephesians 2:14. That was unusual for me. I almost always receive a Word from the Lord with a remembrance of the scripture itself, not the address. I thought is unusual enough to search the passage, surrounding verses and context to this present time. I expected to receive a message for this blog. I was wrong. It was a personal message. It was meant for me, not to share.

I had a full day planned for yesterday and with the amount of time spent sorting out this meaning, I did not have enough time to write a blog. As I pondered the event, knowing this was personal and not meat for consumption, I wondered; how did I know this was personal? I can remember a time when I did not know. Those times were troublesome for others as I shared every little thing I received. My brothers and sisters in Christ often didn’t know what to make of my assertions. My inability to properly handle personal revelation hindered the body of Christ from functioning as intended.

I wonder if I am the only member of the body that has had this experience? Considering we are all subject to the same temptations, perhaps not. So the question becomes, how do I know how to properly handle revelations from the Lord? What am I to do? Pray? Seek counsel? Meditate?

Yesterday I relied on something different than those methods. I have used them before and not always with success. Yesterday I used it in context with my calling, who I am in Christ. I knew because I know who I am in Christ and I have learned not to be something I am not. Having an identity within the body is helpful in knowing how to deal with revelation information. It helps us to maintain the unity of peace within the body when we remain in character. One of the signs of distress within the body is when we see people acting out, not being themselves.

It is just as important to build relationships and recognizing gifts and callings within the body just for this reason. We are meant to exhort and encourage each other, to build the body up.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another;

With one another, as a whole, a body, working together.