Tuesday 7 April, 2020

9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 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. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 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. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

It’s funny how you can notice something new in a passage of scripture that you have read many times before.

After Saul’s famous dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was struck blind and instructed to go into the city where he would be told what to do next.

What I noticed was this: for 3 DAYS he was blind and did not eat or drink a thing.

Imagine what it would be like for Saul to sit there blind for 3 days and wonder when (if ever) he was going to find out what was going on, and wondering if he would ever see again.

Isn’t it interesting (and sometimes quite trying) that God makes us wait for His timing.  In His instructions to Saul there was no mention of the three days of waiting, and yet God must have deemed it important to have this period of waiting.

This is a good reminder that God’s timing is generally not my timing. But God’s timing is much better than mine, so I need to embrace the wait.

So whether I’ve been waiting 3 days, 3 years or 30 years, I can trust God that He knows what He’s doing and I can rest in His plans.

Thank you Lord that you are much, much wiser than me and I can trust you as I wait for your timing.

Written by Shelley Witt