If God Can Save Saul, He Can Save You

ENCOURAGEMENTS: May 5, 2022

Over the weekend, Logan and I watched "The Bible" series on the History Channel. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching it. It's a dramatization of different Biblical characters and their stories, including Abraham, Moses, Samson, Daniel, etc. Of course, the bulk of the series depicts the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. After He ascends to Heaven, they show what happened when the disciples made their way from town to town spreading the Gospel. There was one man I wasn't too familiar with, but whose story amazed me: Saul. Then, a few days later, I was reading my Bible and was double amazed that I had landed right at Saul's story! It's a little long, but here's a snippet from Acts to give you perspective of who Saul was:

Acts 9:1-22

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. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 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?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

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Saul was an EVIL man. He orchestrated the deaths of those who proclaimed the name of Jesus. He HATED Christians and threw them into jail. As he was heading to Damascus to imprison more followers of Jesus, the Lord appeared before Him and blinded Him. This stopped him dead in his tracks, and he ended up isolating himself to pray. That's when God spoke to a man named Ananias. He told him to go find Saul and restore his sight by laying his hands on him. Ananias, understandably, was so fearful of Saul. He knew how evil Saul was and was scared of what he would do to him. But the Lord said something that really shook me:

"This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."

Wow. Saul, this purely malicious and Christian-hating man, would be an instrument to proclaim the Lord's name? How is that possible? Well, with God, ANYTHING is possible. God used him as an example to show what He can do if you repent of your sins, call on the name of the Lord and ask to be saved. He took his dark, twisted, hardened heart and transformed it into a heart that was full of the Holy Spirit and eager to share the Good News. The story of Saul's redemption wasn't just for the people of that time to see, but for us 2000 years later to see. God restored Saul's sight, and he ended up changing his name to Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament. To say he was God's chosen instrument would be an understatement.

If you think that you're too sinful for Jesus to save you, that you've done too many "bad things" in your life, that God would never want to save someone like you, think again. If God can save Saul, he can save you. You just have to lift your voice to God, express that you are a sinner and need a Savior, and ask Jesus into your heart. We are so blessed to receive the free gift of salvation.