God will Get You!
by Omar Miranda
A Huntsville, Alabama taxi driver led police on a multi-state chase. Recently she refused to pull over for a traffic violation and ended up being arrested in Tennessee, after crashing into a police car, and losing control of her car and ending up in a ditch. When the police asked her why she didn’t stop when told to, she responded “I just didn’t feel like stopping today.”*
This is a crazy story, to be sure, but it’s also a sad story. It’s sad because the woman who got arrested, instead of receiving one simple ticket for a traffic violation, ended up, as a direct result of running from the police, ended up with multiple charges—including evading arrest and multiple traffic charges.
I share this story with you to illustrate this simple point: you can’t run from God and He will do whatever it takes to get your attention. For some it’s personal, school, or family problems. For me, God got my attention through my pornography, sex, and pornography addictions—and their consequences.
The Bible tells many stories of many different people who lived their lives, but I want to focus your attention on a guy named Saul, who was focused on persecuting Christians…until God finally got his attention. The interesting thing about this story isn’t that God finally got his attention—it’s what God told him when he finally got it: “ . . . ‘It is hard for you to kick against the goads’ ” (Acts 26:14, NIV).
An ox goad was a stick with a pointed piece of iron on its tip. This was used to prod the oxen when plowing. The farmer would prick the animal on it’s leg or thigh to steer it in the right direction. Sometimes the animal would rebel by kicking out at the prickly pain, and this would result in the prick being driven even further into its flesh. In essence, the more an ox rebelled, the more it suffered. Does this sound familiar? What is God using to goad you—and the more important question: are you kicking against God?
Jesus took control of Paul and let him know his rebellion against God was a losing battle. Paul’s actions were as senseless as an ox kicking “against the goads.” Paul had passion and sincerity in his fight against Christianity, but he was not heading in the direction God wanted him to go. Jesus was going to goad (“direct” or “steer”) Paul in the right direction.
The fact is that you will never be able to run from God and the sooner you recognize that God’s in charge, the happier you’ll be. This same Paul, ended up writing this “AHA moment” (that I hope you get today): “. . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10, 11, NLT).
We, too, find it hard to kick against the goads. Solomon wrote, “Whoever abandons the right path will be severely disciplined . . .” (Proverbs 15:10, NLT). When we choose to disobey God, we become like the rebellious ox—driving the goad deeper and deeper. How much better to pay attention to God’s voice today; today, choose to turn your life over to Jesus! By resisting God’s authority we are only punishing ourselves.
Never forget: God will get you! Let him have you today. You’ll be happier and live your life with more peace, power, and purpose.
*Accessed on March 27, 2022 fromhttps://whnt.com/news/alabama-news/huntsville-taxi-led-police-on-multi-state-chase/
