Something Like Scales

“As he neared Demascus…” that is how verse 3 of Acts chapter 9 starts.  I was reading that this morning and I couldn’t get that phrase out of my head.  How many times have I been on my way to “Demascus” and God intervened?  How many times have I been knowingly on my way to do something and God got in my way?  In this account in Acts we know that Paul, then Saul, is on his way to Demascus to continue his persecution of followers of Jesus and before he got there God stopped him in his tracks and his life was never the same.  Every Christian has had a moment where once they were blind and then they could see; every Christian has had their Demascus road experience.  (Side note: I think that the song Amazing Grace has special meaning to Paul)

But I think it’s important to take that encounter and apply it to what the Holy Spirit does to those who he indwells.  We are all prone to wander from God, we are all attracted and drawn away by our own desires and enticed into sin.  Our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit.  I realized as I looked back at my own life how many times I wandered down the “road to Demascus” and God in his mercy and grace convicted me and I repented. 

I think we all should take a moment to lift a special praise to the Lord for loving us enough to catch us on our way to hurt him and ourselves and renew a right relationship with him.