3-5 “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.”
Acts 9:3-5 (NIV)
Here’s an interesting one for you ...
The University of Louisville’s Wiley Brown left his artificial thumb on a breakfast table the day of the 1980 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament National Championship Game. A waitress accidentally swept it away and it was trashed.
It appeared to be hopelessly lost, but was eventually retrieved from a dumpster, just in time for the game. Brown played effectively and Louisville defeated UCLA for the title, 59–53.
But what if his thumb couldn’t have been found? I’m sure glad someone spotted it in a dumpster!
About 1,980 years ago, a powerful, legendary man named Saul was strikingly blinded. I’m sure he thought he’d never play bigtime again.
He was “headed for a dumpster.” People who go blind usually never regain sight.
But the blinding came from the Lord. God blinded Saul so that he couldn’t see or sense anything else but the Lord. Jesus appeared to a “blind” man and helped him see beyond sight and establish him “under new management.”
Then his physical sight returned. And Saul was rebuilt and relaunched as the apostle Paul, a pillar of Christianity and powerful force for God in this world. God blinded Saul so that Paul could emerge, seeing like never before to change the world.
Most blindness leads to never seeing again. But one kind of blinding leads to better sight than ever. Paul knew that. May you and I go blind to much of this world so that we can see like never before.
Reflect: How’s your vision? Are you seeing life, yourself, others, relationships, events, circumstances and the world as you ought?
Or are you feeling a need to be blinded to things that are getting too much of your attention? Longing to see beyond sight?
There is a blinding by the Lord that is good. Ask Him to close your eyes to the world a little more and open your eyes to Him even more. I believe you’ll love what you’ll see!
A prayer to consider: LORD, keep fulfilling Psalm 119:18 each time I open your Word and read. Make 2 Corinthians 4:18 my daily regimen.
Blind me where necessary so that I can see beyond sight … and help others to see their way through too. Light me up, Jesus, today. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Be Thou my vision. Amen.
