A Matter of the Heart by Pastor Susan Fochler

It’s tempting to hope that a Damascus Road experience like Saul had would somehow fix all our issues.  One minute, walking down the street minding your own business, the next, a face to face with God.  How cool would that be!  Somehow I don’t think it was quite that simple. A Suddenly, and a Process It took just a moment being “blinded by the light” and hearing God’s audible voice for Saul to recognize he’d been wrong about Jesus the whole time.  It changed the trajectory of his life forever.  However, it was a much deeper work, like 12 years in the wilderness, for the reality of God's unconditional love to penetrate his heart. New Identity “Saul” means sought after; Saul was a well respected Jewish leader educated in the Hebrew law.  He came out of the wilderness as “Paul”, which means little.  He now has a new identity, not as a well known leader, but as one with Christ.  He had to die to all the old ways he'd felt worth about himself.  I'm sure that was a hard journey, to surrender all that was familiar, just as it is for us.  As he says in Galatians 2:20:            “My old identity has been co-crucified with Messiah and no longer       lives: for the  nails of His cross crucified me with Him.  And now the       essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the anointed One lives       his life through me-we live in union as one!  My new life is empowered       by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that He gave       Himself for me, and dispenses His life into mine!” Truly, these were not just words to Paul, but his living, breathing, daily reality. Revelation becoming Foundation I had something like a Damascus Road experience many years ago.  I had a sudden, life changing revelation that God loved me in a way I’d never known before.  I lived in His overflowing nearness continuously for the next two or three years.  My heart would rise up in worship spontaneously throughout the day.  I suppose I started to take it for granted.  The glory wave I’d been riding slowly began to dissipate and I no longer woke up every morning full of joy and God’s presence.  I entered a new season where I needed to learn how to possess His love as my own.  This love was a free gift, but a gift that needed to be unpacked and valued in order to be fully incorporated into my life.  And that revelation continues to unfold to this day. Every Day God is with Us Like with Saul, God sometimes reveals Himself in very profound, unmistakable ways; other times he shows up in tender moments we might miss if we blink.  But always, He is with us, dedicated and engaged.  Check it out.  He's in the next breath you take. Love, Susan