The one...the only...Paul...

Do you have a favorite Bible character? Actually when I think about it they aren't really characters...they are real, genuine, people. Mine would have to be Paul. Paul's story is really quite inspiring. He is also a role model for me and a huge reason why I understand God has huge plan's for those who love Him. And also, that Christians aren't exempt from pain and suffering just because we believe in God. I started doing a 90 day journey with Paul, compliments of Beth Moore. I have been learning more than I bargained for and have seen how great our God is.

Paul started out as a Pharisee and even had a different name, Saul. He was really quite evil and killed many Christians that didn't follow the ways of the Pharisee's and their old testament thinking. He thought he was very righteous and had life all figured out. I would say that he had a HUGE ego and massive amounts of pride. Usually when people have HUGE ego's and massive amount's of pride, they get knocked down eventually. That's exactly what happened to Paul. God literally knocked him down and asked Paul why he was persecuting Him? (Acts 9). Paul couldn't deny God's amazing power after that and become a follower himself.

What is so inspiring about Paul is that his devotion to God is like none I have seen. When he became a Christian he was heavily persecuted himself by being put into prisons, put before Roman judges, put into dangerous situations where Jews wanted to stone him to death, and put into hiding. I don't tell the story nearly as great as the Bible does. I don't really even give it justice, but I hope you can start to see his devotion to God. What amazes me the most is that Paul never gave up and he always trusted God.

Paul had no idea the path that God was going to take him on, but he always trusted that God's ways and plans were better. I don't know my path either. It can be scary to think about and fear can enter my mind. Will I ever have kids? What if IVF doesn't work? If I do have kids, will they be healthy? Will I be a good parent? What if I screw up, raising kids is getting harder and harder? I am sure even Paul had moments of fear (I mean he was still human), but Paul never stopped trusting in God and what plans He had. Paul's story is really quite inspiring because I know that trusting God and letting Him rule what happens in your life always turns out better than you can expect. It is definitely easier said than done, but knowing that many have trusted God before me makes it a lot easier.