Kicking Hard Against God’s Will

Last updated on: May 19, 2006 at 8:56 am by Jim Erwin

Kicking Hard Against God’s Will 2006-05-19T08:56:00-05:00 Jim Erwin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Kicking Hard Against God’s Will

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ (Acts 26:14 ESV)

According to Wiktionary, a goad is a long, pointed stick used to prod an animal forward. You can see the goad being used by the second man in the illustration above. Apparently, the goad was used to keep the animal moving in the direction of the master. The animal would kick, because the goad would hurt. Kicking back against the goad could cause the animal to be wounded. But the animal kept moving in the direction of the master.

Apparently, Jesus is telling Saul that you can’t kick against God’s will. By persecuting Christians, Saul was kicking against God’s will. So God uses a blinding light as His goad. It is quite possible that during Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, that he saw oxen being goaded along the road. In this case, the statement would have made sense.

So why does Paul mention this statement in this verse and not in Acts 9 or 22? First of all, it is a Greek and Latin proverb. Considering Paul’s audience, this phrase would have been relevant. Is it a problem that this phrase is mentioned here and not in Acts 9 or 22? No. Just as someone might reveal more of an account depending upon the audience, the same would be true with Paul in this case. He had no reason to mention more in his previous examples. Yet, on trial in a Roman court, with an audiance who spoke Latin and Greek, this statement would make sense.

But what does this statement mean to me? It means that sometimes I can’t fight God’s will in my life. God will keep shaping me and moulding me. This is the picture God uses in the Old Testament – moulding and shaping.

But sometimes God keeps me straight in His direction, even though I may try to kick against His will. God will use a goad, and it will hurt as I keep kicking. When I learn to be obedient to God’s direction, the goad won’t need to be used in my life. When I decide that I can go my own direction, because I think I know what direction is best for me, then God has the right to use His goad on me.

Previous Post

April 20, 2006

Eating a Depression Sandwich

Next Post

September 5, 2006 When Jesus Went on a Divinity Diet

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Chronicles 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Kings 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Chronicles 2 Corinthians 2 John 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3 John Acts Advent Amos Book Review Colossians Comics Culture Watch Daniel Deuteronomy Ecclesiastes Ephesians Esther Exodus Ezekiel Ezra Galatians Genesis Guest Post Habakkuk Haggai Hebrews Hosea Humor Inspiritational Isaiah James Jeremiah Job Joel John Jonah Joshua Jude Judges Lamentations Lectionary Lent Leviticus Link Love Luke Malachi Mark Matthew Micah Movie Review Nahum Nehemiah Numbers Philippians Political Watch Prophecy Watch Proverbs Psalm Revelation Reviews Romans Ruth Science Watch Sermon Series Sermons Simple Thoughts Song of Solomon Titus Top Ten Uncategorized Video Review Zechariah Zephaniah

Select a Month May 2026 October 2025 September 2025 June 2025 February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 January 2022 June 2021 January 2021 October 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2009 June 2008 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 September 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet confronted King Ahab about his sins?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Elisha Elijah Ezekiel Jeremiah