What Shall I Do?

Acts 22:6-15

These are confusing times in which we are living. There is so much swirling around us, happening to us or to the people we know that we are uncertain what we need to do, what we should do, or even what we can do. We are, of course, not without options. Life is full of options, full of choices, things we can do whether they are right or wrong, and often it is the wrong choices that get promoted and celebrated.

            What do you do when you don’t know what to do? What do you do when it seems your back is against the wall and there is no way out? What do you do when life crashes in on you, when the unexpected happens, or when you are faced with the consequences of having made a bad decision? It is at this point when we should ask the question, what shall I do? The problem is that many who find themselves in trouble do not do what is necessary and right to get out, instead they continue doing what the know to do, except that has not worked in the past and will not work now.

            In our text today, the Apostle Paul is defending himself before the Jews after having been seized in the temple. In his defense he identifies himself as one of them who had been zealous before the Lord doing what he thought was the right thing to do. That right thing, he thought, was mercilessly persecuting the followers of the Way, putting both men and women into prison. But then he had an encounter with the living Lord while he was on his way to Damascus with arrest letters for more followers. It was then that he was struck blind by a very bright light and heard instruction from the Lord Himself.

            I have chosen to read Paul’s testimony from the 22^nd chapter rather than the ninth chapter where the incident occurred because He gives us more information. That information answers the question, what shall I do? Paul, after he saw the light and heard the voice, does three things; he asks, listens, and then trusts, and it is these three things we should copy if we expect to not only survive these confusing times, but thrive in them. We must, therefore:

1. Ask God. God has the answers you seek. God is not afraid of your questions. In fact, He knew what you would ask before you asked. He is God. He is never intimidated or offended. On the contrary, He is long suffering, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Paul does not ask one questions; he asks two. When he heard the voice he asks, “who are You, Lord” (vs. 8)? Then he asks, “what shall I do” (vs. 10)?

2. Listen to what He says. Paul did not know Jesus. He did not believe in Him. He sought to stamp out what he believed was a cult following behind Him. But he did know God and knew that the voice he was hearing was one to which he should listen and obey.

“The problem is not an issue of whether God is still speaking. God is, in fact, still speaking. God speaks to us through the testimony of the Scriptures, through the witness of the Holy Spirit. God speaks to us through men and women, servants of God whom he brings into our lives to instruct us and guide us and counsel us. God speaks to us through the testimony of the church, through people who counsel us and work with us and pastor us: the living witness, the body of Christ. God even speaks to us in strange places and at peculiar times. God still speaks! The question is not whether God still speaks. The question is whether we will listen.

There is a difference between listening and hearing. 

There is a connection between listening and obeying. If you are truly listening, if you have been listening, it will evidence itself in your obedience.

3. Trust God. Though he did not know it at the time, God had already spoken to a godly man by the name of Ananias. Ananias had his own struggle having heard of and about Paul, who was known as Saul at the time, and was hesitant to help him. For Paul’s part imagine being blind, not knowing where you were and whom you could trust, yet he trusted God. God responded to his second question by telling him to “get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.”

Tramaine Hawkins sings a song entitled, “What shall I do?”

What shall I do
What step should I take
What move should I make
Oh Lord, what shall I do

I’m going to wait
For an answer from You
I have nothing to lose
Oh Lord, I’m going to wait
I know You’ll come through
With a blessing for me
Please Lord set my soul free
Oh Lord, I know you’ll come through

I can’t live without Your help
I am weak all by myself
Lord please give me the strength I need
So I can possess eternal peace

No one else can calm my fears
God alone can wipe away my tears
Glory to the mighty king
In Jesus Christ I have everything

Oh there’s no one like Jesus
Who can heal broken hearts
And put them back together again

What shall I do
What step should I take
What move should I make
Oh, Lord What shall I do