LIFE SCRIPTS

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
Acts 9:1‭-‬19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/act.9.1-19.NIV.

At times events shake us in a way we least expect. Such was the state of Saul. Departing Jerusalem, he had letters of authority allowing him to persecute believers in Damascus. So wanton was his goal that scripture says that he ‘breathed death threats’. In the middle of his commitment to do wrong, God was about to intervene and change his circumstances. That Damascus road moment arrived and the Lord struck him down with bright light. A voice was heard asking him, ‘Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?’ As the body of Christ, when we are touched, Christ is touched. God considers us the apple of His eye. We are special before Him. So Saul fell down seeing but rose up blind. There are only two options in scripture concerning humility… Either we wear it or the Lord will allow affliction to make us humble. Saul fell in the latter category. A man who had the ear of the high priest and was feared by many was now disabled and could not see. He had been stopped on the way towards persecuting those belonging to the Way. At times, God stops us on our tracks in His great mercy. When we are on the trail leading to wrongdoing, He at times intervenes in unique ways. When we seem to be going astray, He at times detours us. Yes we may feel frustrated but at the end it’s for our good. So the Lord reached out to a Damascan disciple called Ananias. Note that the Lord reaches out to both Saul and Ananias. He speaks to both of them in order for His word to be credible. Ananias, though initially afraid, gets assurance from God then reaches out to Saul. He refers to Him as ‘brother’. Once an adversery, now a brother. Something good about Ananias was he obeyed God’s call. Yes, it was risky to go to the same person who’s obtained a license to persecute you. But he believed in God’s word and obeyed it. A contrast to the other Ananias who sought to decieve God by holding back what he had pledged to give. When he prayed for Saul, he regained his sight. He took him and hosted him for some days in Damascus. His mission to Damascus hadn’t aborted. Instead, it had become a mission of conversion to the most Holy Faith. He had come on a mission to inflict pain on the followers of the ‘Way’. Yet instead, he had discovered the ‘Way’ himself through pain. At the end, God’s in charge.