The First Big Step

Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
The first step is a big one.
Remember Paul on the road to Damascus? Breathing wrath and wanting to kill those who followed Jesus. Remember how the Lord got his attention? Knocked him to his knees and blinded him with His glory, asked him why he was doing what he was doing. Sure we all know the story but did we see what God told him to do? No it was not write a large part of the New Testament. No it was not convert the then known world. No it was not to plant churches in Jesus name. Now we know that was God’s plan but He did not give it to Paul all at once. What did the Lord tell Paul to do? Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

When we get saved do we have a complete road map laid out for us telling what we are to do for the rest of our lives? Not really. We may get a word as Paul did, “Arise “. We may have an inkling of what the Lord wants us to do. First we have to go where He can better speak to us and give us more direction. A big step was taken when we received Christ now what? The danger is that the longer we wait the less motivated we become. We can begin to rationalize, for example: "He didn't really mean now, there's a lot of loose ends I need to tie up first." We might even look for an alternative explanation "Maybe that wasn't the Lord I met. Maybe the light was lightning and the voice was just thunder." Whatever the situation, the decision of when to get started is always -- "now."
The Lord's next words, "get up and go... and you will be told what you must do," should be underlined and highlighted in all of our Bibles for they are the key to understanding the concepts of discipleship, faith, and righteousness. These concepts can appear difficult and complicated. However, they are really very simple when expressed as: "get up and go... and you will be told what you must do." Paul didn’t stay in the dirt on the road? He asked “what will thou have me to do?” He didn’t start to analyze and rationalize his next move by asking, “Where exactly do you want me to go?” "What exactly do you want me to do when I get there?" or "What should I take with me -- do I need to pickup something on the way?" He just obeyed the Lord and got up and was led to Damascus.

In the military, one of the purposes of boot camp is to prepare independent young men and women to take orders without question or explanation. On the battlefield if the sergeant yells "hit the ground" a new recruit might get killed by enemy fire if he or she pauses to ask for more information of what ground to hit, or a more detailed explanation of the danger. The same can be true for us as we face the trials and tribulations of the spiritual boot camp we call life -- do we hesitate or obey? All too often we look back at an event and say "It would have turned out so much better if I had only listened to the Lord!"
When the Lord says, "Get up and go," how do you respond? How do you express in your life the concepts of discipleship, faith, and righteousness? Faith is doing something even though you don't know how it will turn out. When was the last time you stepped out in faith? Are you willing to follow the Lord right now, and then wait for His next instruction?