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Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ (Acts 9:1-20)
This is one of the most powerful conversation stories in the Bible. A young, well-connected, influential man of faith, educated by the greatest teachers in the land, dedicates his life to destruction; all in the name of faith. Present at the death of the first Christian martyrs, he is inspired to do more of the same, and using his connections gets permission to continue that sort of work in Damascus. He loved seeing Christians suffer for their faith,and sets off to Big D to arrest any who belonged to the Way. But as happens in our lives, we make plans, God laughs, and plans change. Sometimes, lives even change.
You've heard this story before; Paul gets knocked off his high horse, as it were, and gets asked by Jesus Himself, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Bam! Saul, because his name had not yet changed, asks, "Who are you, Lord?" He knew in his spirit that the voice belonged to the Lord; we'll give him that, and Jesus identifies Himself and tells him all about how his life is now changed.
Another of the things that gets me about this story is that Jesus showed Paul everything, especially how much he was going to suffer for the sake of Jesus' name - and still Paul said yes. I've jokingly said if I had known about some of the church meetings I would have to sit through as I was being called to ministry I might have said no. Paul said yes. And his life was never the same. He became the greatest Christian evangelist in the world at a critical time and touched lives as he started churches in most of the known world in parts no one else dared enter. His life is a testimony to the power of God to make us new creations - if we allow that to happen to us.
Where are you? Are you where God would have you be? Are you doing what God has asked of you? It is never too late to start; to get where God would have you be, and to do what God has asked of you.
PRAYER: LOVING God, take me to the place where I should be. Help me become the person I should be; this I pray in Christ Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
