“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. (Acts 9:5, NIV)
The auto accident of the golf course is being struck by a golf ball. No one leaves home saying, “I’m going to get cut off and slam into another vehicle on the way to work today.” In the same way, no one tees off thinking, I can’t wait until I take a screaming five-iron shank in the left arm!
We call it the unexpected for a reason. We can’t predict it. Even when we’re watching a tense movie that we know will feature sudden surprises, we jump when they happen because we don’t know when they’re coming.
Saul’s conversion was not typical, but neither was it unique.Normally we would not think of conversion—which in this case we mean going from a position of unbelief that Jesus is Savior and Lord to a position of belief that this is so—as a sudden, surprising occurrence. And yet, right there in the heart of the New Testament is an account that even the more cursory readers of Scripture remember. It is the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, where this murder-minded Jewish leader was headed to round up disciples of Jesus and return to Jerusalem with his prisoners on the line.
Then it happened. A light from heaven flashed around him, and Saul fell to the ground blinded.
There was no question in Saul’s mind about what had happened. God had taken him down. For three days he continued in his blindness, and he fasted from food and drink. Then a tentative disciple named Ananias, directed by God’s voice, showed up where Saul was staying and affirmed for this Jewish stalwart that the one Saul had encountered was the risen and glorified Jesus. Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized, and within days was preaching what he now was convinced was true: Jesus is the Son of God.
Saul’s conversion was not typical, but neither was it unique. Many have been moved from unbelief to belief in the course of a sermon or a prayer. Others come more slowly, asking questions, considering the answers. Some walk on the edge of belief but only step over when a circumstance of life convinces them of their need. It’s not how you come or how quickly; it’s that you come to Jesus and that you are changed in the coming. Saul would become Paul, the voice of hope to the Gentiles, but long before then Jesus came to him and he came to faith.
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Jeff Hopper
March 29, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Rescued from Death 1: Bad Religion
Rescued from Death 3: Time to Grow
Rescued from Death 4: The Help We’re Given
Rescued from Death 5: Real-World Disciples
Rescued from Death 6: Lingering Sin
Rescued from Death 7: Our Confidence
Rescued from Death 8: Disciples and Protégés