An Encounter That Changed Everything
I was recently reading about Saul’s conversion in the Book of Acts, and it struck me in a fresh way. To give a little background—Saul was known for persecuting Christians, who at that time referred to themselves as Followers of the Way. (Side note: this always makes me think of Jesus’ words in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”)
One day, while Saul was on a mission to Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly surrounded him, and he fell to the ground. In that moment, he encountered the Lord. During this encounter, Saul asked two powerful questions:
Scripture says, “And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Acts 9:5–6, KJV)
The two questions Saul asked were:
“Who art thou, Lord?”
“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
After this encounter, Saul opened his eyes but realized he could no longer see. The men traveling with him had to lead him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he remained blind and did not eat or drink. Then Ananias—whom God had already prepared—laid hands on him. Immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, his sight was restored, he ate again, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit.
It makes me wonder—if I were to survey people and ask what questions they would ask God, I’d probably hear a wide variety of answers.
But what if, like Saul, we approached God with surrendered hearts and asked only these two:
Who are You, Lord? and Lord, what would You have me to do?
As always, I also encourage you to read Acts 9:1-22 for yourself to get even more insight from God.
