Most
translations do not say “pricks” but have replaced it with goads…which is the
same thing and does not change the meaning of the verse. Jesus asked Saul (later to be known as Paul)
this question in Acts 26:14: “And when we had all fallen
to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the
goads.’ The King James uses “pricks”. A
prick or goad was a shard stick used to jab an animal to get it to go in the direction
the owner wanted it to go. Some times
the animal would rebel causing itself even more pain. In simple language what
Jesus was asking Saul is why do you fight against me…..the things I am seeking
to accomplish?
Aren’t we often
like Paul? Most of the time we miss what
God sends our way or allow in our life because we do not look at things from
His perspective. We fight against those things that hurt, that we don’t see the
good in, that cause us to struggle. We
cry out ‘why God’?
If we are
His, (a born-again Believer in God’s family), our life is filled with
opportunities to grow into the person the Lord desires for us to be. He sends The Holy Spirit to help us, along
with other Believers and situations that come into our life. God is most
concerned with our character. The right
behavior, the correct actions, flow from the right character. His plan is not hidden from us. When a person is saved all the seeds of the ‘fruit
of the spirit’ are planted in our life in an instant. The rest of our life is
filled with opportunities for these seeds to grow…depending upon our response. Everything
we encounter, good or bad, brought on by our bad decisions or the decisions of
others, celebrations or losses, even situations completely out of our control, should
lead us back to Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.” Instead of kicking against the
pricks, maybe we should ask ourselves a few questions. Lord what are You trying
to reveal to me about me? Is there something
in my character, listed in the fruit of the spirit, You are trying to further
develop in my life? What are You trying to teach me about You? (Thoughts From the Trail)
