The Gospel in Motion: God Used Time
Contributed by Nancy Buschart

“When [Saul] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple… . [T]hey took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.” —Acts 9:26, 30

On the road to Damascus, Saul has had a dramatic encounter with Jesus that changed his life from the inside out. No longer persecutor of the Christians, Saul has become one of them. He thinks he is ready to begin the ministry that Jesus has assigned to him: “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” (9:15). In both Damascus and in Jerusalem, Saul begins to preach, debate, and baffle “the Jews … by proving that Jesus is the Messiah” (9:22, 27).

But Saul is not ready. Even though he is powerfully convincing and even gets himself on the death-list of the religious establishment, Jesus still needs to teach Saul the Way and to “show him how much he must suffer for [Jesus’] name” (9:16).

So, Saul lands in Tarsus, his old stomping grounds in the desert, and he spends years there. What is he doing during this time? Who are “his people”? Where does he live and how does he spend his time? Not much is known, but much can be surmised.

I imagine part of Paul’s necessary task was unlearning. Tarsus was Saul’s early place of becoming a faithful and zealous religious leader. His lessons and life in Jerusalem led him away from the true mark of righteousness into the zealous perpetrator of 1st century religious corruption, that which kept the poor, downtrodden, and sick from life in the Temple (John 5:1-18).

Tarsus again became Saul’s training ground; this time as a place to unlearn old ways of thinking and living. Saul learned to depend on the very people he persecuted, and they learned to trust Saul. He became a servant to his people.

He learned to wait. Saul spent three to four years in this place of becoming (9:30) travelling to and from Cilicia at 3mph.

He learned to surrender. Self-determination was no longer calling the shots (2 Cor 12:7-10). Jesus was!

When we find ourselves waiting and surrendering, we call it a desert experience. When the outcomes are unknown to us, we can blister with discontent, anger, blame, and pain. Perhaps, just perhaps… it is in this time and place God births life-giving goodness for us and others. We learn – we wait – we surrender. We give thanks.

Saul’s time in the desert, the waiting, the surrender, and the learning brought about more change from the inside out. Saul the persecutor, and Saul the new believer in Jesus, grew to become Paul the apostle to the Gentiles. Thanks be to God.

Consider—

╬ When have you entered a time of waiting? What have you had to surrender? What would it look like to surrender your will to Him? What have you unlearned in learning a deeper truth of God? Of yourself? Of others?

╬ Paul was radically transformed from persecutor to persecuted. While we may not undergo such a radical change, God is continually transforming us. How has God birthed life-giving goodness in you through waiting in the desert?

╬ Father, Son, and Spirit, we also have much to learn from you and from each other. Teach us your ways, O Lord. Guide us in your truth. Bring us to surrender to your will and your way. Help us learn patience as we wait on you. In Christ’s name. Amen.