One of my absolute favorite stories in the Bible proves the transformational power of Jesus. It shows there’s absolutely no one too far gone to be saved and redeemed. There’s no wrong Jesus can’t make right. There’s no life he can’t use for his good purposes. AND … you don’t even have to get yourself together before Jesus comes looking for you! That’s right, Jesus will choose you before you even consider choosing him!
That’s my story. He wanted me and he came and swooped me up. Met me right where I was when I was trying my best to have success without him, and set my feet on solid ground before I even knew I wanted to be on solid ground.
And this gives me the most unshakable hope for others who have wandered far and don’t even want to be found at this point. Ahhhh, Jesus knows where they are! He can intervene and change everything in an instant.
Before we read this powerful story in our Bibles together, let’s understand the setting and the timeline. Jesus has already been born, he’s already walked the Earth, he’s already died on the cross, and he’s already been resurrected back to heaven. Jesus’ disciples are now fulfilling their calling and spreading the Good News. But there’s trouble. Some were adamantly against Jesus being the Messiah and people becoming his followers.
That trouble is lead by those who truly believed their way was right, and Jesus was wrong. They defended their way by persecuting all followers of Jesus, seeking to capture them and imprison them to stop this radical movement of Christianity. One man leading the battle against Jesus followers was Saul. He devoted his life to ending this revolution for Jesus. Saul surely thought this Jesus was a good man who did good things while he was alive, but he couldn’t possibly be the Son of God as he claimed. So, he would put an end to this blasphemy.
That’s where we are when we come upon the divine intervention of Jesus in a way that could not be denied. The story is known as The Road to Damascus. Now, let’s read this powerful story together. Acts 9: 1-19:
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.
How long had Saul been seeking Jesus? ZERO DAYS! How many times had Saul prayed in the name of Jesus? ZERO TIMES! And yet, Jesus came seeking Saul! How wrong had Saul been? REALLY WRONG. How convinced was Saul that the wrong way was the right way? TOTALLY SOLD OUT TO BEING WRONG. And yet, Jesus intentionally chose him.
He chose him when he was wrong. He chose him when he was on his way to do the wrong thing. He chose him when he wasn’t wanting to be chosen. But Jesus doesn’t need permission to do his life changing work. You darn well better believe he can show up and change everything in an instant!
Verse 15, Jesus says, “Saul is my chosen instrument.” He knew his potential. If Saul had been this strong and persistent about the wrong thing, imagine how strong and persistent he could be about the right thing. If he had been relentless to take Jesus’ followers captive when he was confused, imagine how relentless he would be in setting Jesus’ followers free when he knew the truth.
Saul didn’t choose Jesus first … Jesus chose Saul first. While Saul was angry and violent and convinced of his self-righteousness, Jesus came seeking him!
Saving was not Saul’s work … that’s Jesus’ work. Saving is not your work, my sister. You can’t do that. You can’t save yourself and you can’t save anyone else. Jesus holds that power in his very capable hands. You can trust him to get this right!
The enemy loves to play the screw up and beat up game. He helps you screw up, then holds you captive in a never ending beat up session. You replay your failures over and over again, hiding in shame, reliving your guilt, and dismissing yourself from the potential of anything better for your future. But God has not dismissed you. Jesus doesn’t flinch over your past. He knew every single thing you would ever royally screw up before you even took your first breath, and he still chose you. Why? Because he knows your potential!
GIRL, YOU HAVE POTENTIAL.
You have potential to use everything you got wrong before to help others get it right now. You have the potential to take all that regret and live in immeasurable grace now. You have the potential to be fully forgiven, totally redeemed, and overflowing with purpose. How do I know? Because he did it with Saul, honey he can do it with YOU! And he can do it with the one you love that has been valiantly marching down the wrong path.
That’s why I love this story. We see how a single encounter with Jesus can radically change anyone. We see how Jesus chooses the unlikely, then empowers them to live a life of deep purpose. The old life doesn’t continue after an encounter with Jesus … we are changed to live totally different! We are made new in Christ!
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Do you know who wrote that? YES … this man Saul who was made totally new by Jesus! Saul who was given a new life and a new name. Paul. How absolutely divine and how absolutely miraculous. It’s a story only God could imagine!
Gosh, that makes me wonder what story God has imagined for you, my sister! What divine encounter for miraculous change could he have aligned for you?!!!!
But, please do notice, an encounter with Jesus doesn’t always leave you with that warm fuzzy hopeful feeling. An encounter with Jesus left Saul blind for 3 days. This was his humbling process. His pride was being stripped. His anger was being extinguished. His perspective was being changed. Saul was dying to himself. Jesus says this is what must happen. We must die to ourselves. We must give up our old ways. We must be humbled.
Humbling is a hard process. It hurts. It strips us. And it changes us. 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”
This is precisely what happened to Saul. He was humbled. For 3 days he could not see. For 3 days he was stripped of everything he thought was right and in the darkness of no sight, he saw the light. Then, after he was humbled, he was lifted by God.
This is where Saul becomes Paul. A new name was given to a humbled man chosen by Jesus. Paul, formerly known as Saul, joins the disciples in their mission to spread the truth of Jesus and he goes on to write the majority of our New Testament Bible! Yes, he’s the Apostle Paul, author of Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Phillippians, Thessalonians …. The man who Jesus chose, the man who Jesus blinded, the man who Jesus radically changed because he knew his potential! But he had to be humbled.
Let me tell you, on the other side of an encounter with Jesus is a humbling process. On the other side of that humbling process is a strengthening like you have never felt before and a calling that starts a fire within you. And then, very likely, humbling again.
I’ve personally found Jesus has to continually meet me along the road and humble me again. I get all fleshy. I get distracted. I get drawn into success and shiny things and Jesus gets put on the back burner occasionally. Then, he graciously humbles me again, strips me of a few things, blinds me for a bit so I can really see the truth and get back on the right path with him. Not out of punishment, but out of a calling to my potential. Jesus knows whats inside of me! He knows how I can be used for greater things, so he has to humble me to keep me from settling for lesser things.
He knows your potential too, my sister. He’s coming straight for you! You may be humbled here. You may be stripped of a few things. But I assure you, Jesus knows what he’s doing! He’s right in choosing you!
What could Jesus do with a girl like you, a past like yours, a pain like that, a problem like this … Wow … that’s a whole lot of potential in the hands of Jesus!
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