Acts 9:1-9, 17-19
“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.
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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.”
Advent is a season of expectation, a time when God breaks into ordinary life with extraordinary light. That’s what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. He wasn’t seeking Jesus, yet Jesus came seeking him, shining into his darkness and changing the trajectory of his life.
But Paul’s transformation didn’t end on the road.
God spoke to Ananias in a vision and invited him to take a risk, to pray for the very man known for persecuting believers. Ananias obeyed, and his obedience became the bridge between Paul’s encounter and Paul’s calling.
God is still looking for Ananias-like believers. People who will:
obey God’s voice even when it feels risky
pray bold prayers over broken people
speak life where everyone else sees impossibility
dream God-sized dreams for others and themselves
This is the heart of Advent: God comes to us, and God sends us. He meets us in our darkness, and sends us to others in theirs.
My own story reflects this. After my mother died, I walked through a season that felt like blindness. But the Holy Spirit met me unexpectedly, like light on my own Damascus Road. And just like Paul, God used Ananias-like people in my life to help me rise again.
Advent reminds us that God still transforms lives, and still uses ordinary people to do it.
This Advent, ask yourself:
Who is God asking you to see differently, not as they are but as they could be?
What dream is God awakening in you for someone else’s transformation?
Lord, as You brought light to Paul, bring Your light into my life this Advent. Give me the courage of Ananias to obey Your voice and dream with You about the transformation You want to bring in me and through me. Amen.