Acts 26:12-18. Paul is testifying before King Agrippa. He has just established that he has always been a faithful Jew and, just a short time ago, was a Pharisee intent on imprisoning, persecuting, and even killing the followers of Christ. Now he continues by telling Agrippa his conversion story. He says that, with the authority and commission of the chief priests, he set out for Damascus to arrest Jesus' followers there. While on the road, he was knocked to the ground by a bright light and Jesus spoke to him asking why he was persecuting Him and saying "It hurts you to kick against the goads." Jesus told Paul that He was appearing to him in order to send him to the Gentiles "to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God," and receive a place among the sanctified.

This is the most detailed description of what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus that we have read yet! Every time we hear it, we get a little more information! This time we hear that Jesus told Paul "It hurts you to kick against the goads." I find this very illuminating! Obviously, Paul (formally Saul) felt the goads and was kicking against them. In other words, somewhere in his heart he felt the pull of Truth, and was rebelling against it so much that he was driving himself into a raging fury, as we learned yesterday. This was obviously leading him to hurt others, but it also was hurting him tremendously.

We would not know this unless Jesus said it and Paul recounted it, and I am so grateful they both did because I even though I know that God has written His law in our hearts, I sometimes wonder if others are feeling any remorse at all for their bad behavior. It seems to me so many are denying the truth at all costs, and this leads to them harming others tremendously. I am so saddened by the injustice of it all, but when I speak out against it, I myself am treated unjustly and I usually make no headway at all. All I can think of to do is pray, but I wonder sometimes if those who seem so sure of themselves in their error are feeling any pricks of conscience. From this reading, I can be assured that they are. In fact, I see that often the more angry people are, the more their conscience is bothering them. Their anger is a sign of them kicking against the goads, just as it was for Paul.

The lies people twist their minds and hearts to continue to believe are the works of Satan. Like all of his works, they have a limited lifespan - the Truth always prevails, and God allows us to be called back to Him by pricks of conscience. Of course, we all have a choice in whether to double down in our error, like the chief priests and elders are doing against Paul, or to listen to our conscience and "turn from darkness to light." Eventually, hopefully, we will all see the light, repent of anything we've done in service of the lies, and gain our place among the sanctified. That is the hope for every single one of us!