Saul Meets Jesus

And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."*   Ananias was fearful of going to Saul even when God asked him to. That is understandable considering the reputation that Saul had. God was patient with Ananias and urged him to go. How would you feel if God asked you to go and help the worst person you can think of? Notice God has chosen Saul as an instrument. That means God is going to use Saul to go on a mission for Him. The mission is to tell others about the good news. Saul will spend the rest of his life on this mission and it will be very exciting and rewarding but he will suffer for Jesus. Never be afraid of being an instrument for God because it may mean that you suffer for Him. Later in his life Saul wrote:   For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   Great rewards are stored in heaven for those who suffer for Jesus. Our greatest reward will be to see our Savior face to face. What glory that will be! Acts 9:9-16, Romans 8:18 (NASB)

Lesson Questions for the Full Story: