How He Works in the Background of Our Lives
In the story of Saul’s transformation into Paul, we see a beautiful picture of how God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our God is always working, always faithful, and always weaving together the stories of our lives for His glory.
How Does God Work Behind the Scenes in Our Lives?
The book of Acts shows us how God was directing not only Saul’s life but also the circumstances surrounding him. He was preparing both the man and the city that would forever change Saul into Paul.
When we last saw Saul, he had given his life to Jesus. After his baptism and some fiery preaching that got him into trouble, he was run out of two cities and sent back home to Tarsus. From our perspective, it might have looked like God sidelined His main character – the only one who wasn’t afraid to preach Jesus anywhere, anytime.
But God hadn’t forgotten about Saul. He was building the right circumstances to put Saul to work. While Saul was in Tarsus for about 10 years, two other major storylines were unfolding:
God was moving pieces in Jerusalem with Peter
God was working in a pagan city called Antioch with some amazing unnamed people
What Was Saul Doing During His “Sideline” Years?
For 10 long years, Saul may have been on the sidelines, but he wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. The change God created in him was so real and explosive that he couldn’t keep quiet.
From his later letters, we know that while he was home in Tarsus, he was:
Being beaten with rods
Being whipped in synagogues
Even being stoned a couple of times
This doesn’t sound like someone pouting that God wasn’t using him! Instead, he was practicing and preparing for when God would call him up.
As Philippians 1:6 reminds us: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” When we feel alone or sidelined, we must remember it isn’t the end of our story – it’s just God continuing the good work He started in us.
How Was God Preparing the Way for Gentiles?
While Saul (the future apostle to the Gentiles) was in his training camp, God was dealing with a major roadblock back in Jerusalem. The apostles, including Peter, still thought that “this Jesus thing” was just for the Jews.
In Acts 10, God gave Peter a vision of a sheet filled with animals that Jewish law forbade him from eating. When Peter refused to eat them, God told him: “Do not call anything unclean that I have made clean.” This happened three times.
This vision prepared Peter and the apostles to accept that the gospel of Jesus Christ wasn’t just for Jews anymore but for everyone. While God was preparing Saul to preach to the Gentiles, He was also preparing the apostles to accept the Gentiles.
How Did God Use Unnamed Heroes to Start a Revival?
In Acts 11:19-21, we read about believers who were scattered after Stephen’s persecution. Most of them only preached to Jews. But some men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Gentiles), preaching about Jesus.
These men weren’t big-name apostles. They were unnamed heroes who understood the world differently. While other believers stuck to what was safe and familiar, these men had the Holy Spirit’s courage to take the gospel message to the whole world.
The result? “The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” A massive revival broke out!
This teaches us that it doesn’t take a big name or a big wallet to change the world. All it takes is being faithful to God’s word and what He’s asking you to do. The two simple things needed to change the world are:
Faith in Him
Love for others
How Did God Bring Saul Back into the Picture?
As the revival in Antioch grew, the apostles sent Barnabas to check it out. When he arrived and saw what God was doing, he was excited and encouraged the new believers.
But Barnabas realized this revival was too big for him to handle alone. Instead of going back to Jerusalem for help, he remembered Saul and went to Tarsus to find him.
Acts 11:25-26 tells us: “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Antioch became Paul’s future home base – every mission he went on started from Antioch and returned to Antioch. God had been working in the background all along to bring everything together at just the right time.
Life Application
God is always working in the background of our lives, even when we can’t see it. He’s working in your life and in the lives of others to bring things together for His glory.
We need to trust that God knows what He’s doing, even when things don’t make sense to us. Remember, He’s not always working to make us happy – He’s working for His glory, which sometimes means we won’t be happy with His plan.
Ask yourself these questions this week:
Do I feel sidelined or forgotten by God right now?
How might He be preparing me during this season?
Am I willing to step out of my comfort zone to share Jesus with someone different from me?
Who is one person I can tell about Jesus this week?
Am I trusting God’s plan even when I can’t see what He’s doing?
Challenge: This week, find at least one person to tell about Jesus. It doesn’t have to be complicated – just share what an awesome friend He is. God is preparing you for something greater than you can imagine, just as He did with Saul.