One of the most told stories of the New Testament outside of the Gospels: the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus. And most probably, my favorite. My favorite because it reminds me that no matter what wrong path I'm on-how far I might stray- God can and will stop me in my tracks and put me exactly where He needs me for His good, His message, His plan.
The second part of the story is worth taking note. Poor Ananias is elected by God to go lay hands on Saul to give him back his sight. "Get up and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for 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". v.11-12 " But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name". v. 13-14 You see, Ananias was scared of being killed by Saul. But Ananias obeys. I would like to think that if I got such direct direction from God, like in a voice, that I would obey too, ie, knowing for sure that it was God talking. Hmm...I can not think at this moment of anytime that God has called me to do something and I was afraid but went anyway. That is probably not a good thing. I am going to think about that and let you know.
Praise God that Saul was struck down and saved. He would become key to the conversions of the Gentiles and God's perfect instrument to show/demonstrate grace...His Grace. What better person to tell and explain to people God's grace, than one that received it the most. Saul was saved for some days when the Jews had already started a plot to kill him - the disciples had to hide him to keep him safe. God didn't waste anytime getting Saul to work to proclaim His name.
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