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Acts 9:1–19

Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord’s followers. He even went to the high priest

2 and asked for letters to their leaders in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord’s Way.

3 When Saul had almost reached Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.

4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice that said, “Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?”

5 “Who are you?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus,” the Lord answered. “I am the one you are so cruel to.

6 Now get up and go into the city, where you will be told what to do.”

7 The men with Saul stood there speechless. They had heard the voice, but they had not seen anyone.

8 Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he could not see a thing. Someone then led him by the hand to Damascus,

9 and for three days he was blind and did not eat or drink.

10 A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, “Lord, here I am.”

11 The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying,

12 and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so that he could see again.”

13 Ananias replied, “Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem.

14 Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name.”

15 The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me.

16 I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.”

17 Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, “Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18 Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see. He got up and was baptized.

19 Then he ate and felt much better.

The Holy Bible: The Contemporary English Version, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), Acts 9:1–19.

Have you ever written someone off as too far gone?

Too angry. Too sinful. Too damaged. Too resistant.

Saul of Tarsus was that person. An enemy of the church. A persecutor. A threat.Yet God, rich in mercy, met Saul in the middle of his mission of destruction, turned his blindness into sight, and his hatred into gospel passion.Why? Because grace doesn’t wait for us to behave, it crashes in.
Maybe you see yourself more in Saul’s past…or maybe, like Ananias, you’ve hesitated to obey God’s call out of fear or uncertainty. The good news? God uses both the broken and the obedient.
God told Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him.”Ananias didn’t have the whole story, he had only a command. And he obeyed.
His obedience helped launch Paul’s ministry to the nations. Never underestimate how your yes to God can be part of someone else’s salvation story.

  • God can save anyone—no matter their past.

  • God can use anyone—no matter their fears.

  • God is always at work—on both ends of the situation.

This week, ask God:

“Who is my Saul? Who are You calling me to see through the lens of Your grace?”

Then, like Ananias, listen…and go.