Saul’s Conversion
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 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. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 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. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 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. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 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.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. (Acts 9:1-18, NIV)
Scripture is full of stories about people whose lives are dramatically changed when God speaks to them directly. There are two main reasons why I chose this passage of Scripture. First, God spoke to two very different people. Saul did not have a personal relationship with Jesus; in fact, he was the enemy of anyone claiming to acknowledge Jesus as the son of God. Ananias did have a personal relationship with Jesus; he was a disciple. Despite Saul and Ananias’ stark differences, they both heard and recognized Who was speaking to them.
The second reason why I chose this passage of Scripture is the miraculous work that God did in Saul’s life.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 9:19-22, NIV)
From the moment of his conversion, Saul’s life took a dramatic turn – beginning with his name! Afterward, known as Paul, he embarked on three separate missionary travels with Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy, respectively. He performed miracles, experienced a miraculous prison break, spent years under house arrest, and became the author of 13 New Testament books. Paul’s humble response to God’s voice on the road to Damascus resulted in an overflow of grace that spilled over onto people of his own time and people ever since.
What is the power of “voice” in our own lives? Some individuals have a diagnosis of dysgraphia, which is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to write clearly. It may manifest itself as a person’s physical inability to write or the inability to translate their thoughts into written words. These individuals are of average intelligence but are often mislabeled as “dumb” or “slow” because of their difficulty with writing.
One revolutionary form of assistive technology for individuals with dysgraphia is voice recognition software. Tools such as Google’s Speech-to-Text are designed with algorithms to respond to anyone’s voice, but students will tell you that it can be frustrating to use, especially if they have a quiet voice, a pronounced accent, or a speech impediment. More sophisticated voice recognition software depends on a recorded template of a user’s voice, called “template matching.” A program must be “trained” to recognize a user’s voice.
- First, the program will show a printed word or phrase that the user speaks and repeats several times into the system’s microphone to train the voice recognition software.
- Next, the program computes a statistical average of multiple samples of the same word or phrase.
- Finally, the program stores the average sample as a template in its data structure.
Just as software must be “trained” to recognize our voice, we as followers of Christ must be trained to recognize His voice. According to F.B. Meyer in his book, The Secret of Guidance, there are ‘three lights’ that serve as guiding points of reference when we discuss hearing God’s voice or gaining guidance in life. They are impressions of the Spirit, words from Scripture, and our circumstances. Along with these three, some will often include the wise counsel of godly friends and mentors.
Are you seeking to know God’s will for a current or future decision? Which of these “three lights” is easiest for you to discern? Do you hear the internal voice of the Holy Spirit? Do you hear God’s voice when reading and meditating on Scripture? Or when you are journaling your thoughts or when praying as you walk or run for exercise? Is one of these ways easier or more difficult for you? How might God be stretching you?
Personally, I have studied Scripture mostly by attending Bible studies and discussing the Word with friends. I am also committed to reading daily devotionals from well-known authors. I have tried a couple of times to read the Bible in a year, but I soon gave up because I thought the plans were too mechanical. Lately, I have included reading a chapter of the book of John along with my daily devotionals. Before I read, I ask the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to any wisdom that is present in the words I am reading. I am beginning to learn to study the Scriptures on my own.
God wants to write His beautiful plan in our hearts, but we must have the “technology” to recognize His voice. I encourage you to explore the three lights and ponder how you best hear God speaking to you. May we, like Paul, hear the word of God and allow it to transform our lives.
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28, NIV)
https://www.kardome.com/blog-posts/re.difference-speech-and-voice-recognition
https://mwerickson.com/2018/11/15/the-voice-of-god-and-the-three-lights
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made 