I have known people that are "driven".
I don't think many people would characterize me as being "driven".
Driven people are usually the "take life by the horns" people - the "make it happen" people.
All to often I am a "watch it happen" person.
I am coming to a place of thinking that God's best is often displayed when we let go of the situation at hand and let Him drive.
Sheep are not driven - they are led.
I like the stories when God says "be still" ... "the battle is not yours but the Lord's".
There are also times in which God's people are allowed to take part in what He is doing. Like in the case of David stepping into a duel in the sun with Goliath.
But even people like myself whose driven-ness may not be obvious, have an urging within us that pushes us toward something better.
Over the past two or three years, I have thought more about the people and events that have wielded great influence upon my life. In fact at one time I set an objective of finding a way to thank those people. I even bought some notecards.
Unfortunately - not being an especially driven person - I haven't yet sent any of those cards.
With this recurring series, I intend to point out some of those people and events. I doubt there will be many earth-shattering revelations, but it will be my way of thanking them (though I may not mention names unless I'm given permission). And since I sometimes think of these writings as being something of the legacy I hope to leave for my progeny, perhaps it will serve that purpose as well.
I will close this post with a quick example that just popped in my head. In the early part of the book of Acts (that's in the Bible), we find the story of Stephen the first martyr of the church.
At the close of that story, the fury of the townspeople reaches a fever pitch against the pious Stephen, he is driven into the outskirts of town and soundly stoned.
As one great character is leaving the stage, another is introduced: we are told that the men that did the stoning took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Those of you familiar with the story will recall that Stephen went out in a glorious way! He saw heaven opened and Jesus standing at God's right hand ( my Grand Dad liked to point out here that Jesus was usually always referred to as being "seated" but now He was standing; this demonstrated His concern). Stephen loudly proclaimed what he was seeing and graciously he fell asleep amid the chaos and violence of the stoning.
Nothing in the Bible provides an obvious link between Saul and Stephen except that Saul just seemed to be a bystander at Stephen's death.
I think it had great influence on Saul.
I believe it convicted him. And as is often the case, when people contend against the Spirit's wooing, they can get pretty mean. The next time we hear about Saul he has become somewhat notorious. Believers everywhere fear him. In fact chapter 9 of Acts pictures hims as "breathing out murderous threats".
But in that same chapter, Saul came to the end of his conflict with God. He later became known as Paul, the Apostle. Yet I believe the road to that conversion actually began that day he encountered Stephen.
We don't know what influence our words or deeds will have. Stephen certainly knew that he had heaven's attention at the moment of his death, but I don't know if he knew that he was preaching the gospel to an unsuspecting zealot.
I want to point up in this category how people can often be used without their knowledge, to change the direction of the life of someone else.
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