HELP FROM OTHERS

Is it easier for you

to help others

or

to receive help from others?

 

I could be wrong, but my guess is that most of us would say it is more difficult to receive help from others. Have you ever thought that sometimes God orchestrates events in our lives where we have no choice but to be on the receiving end of help? After all, God works everything out for our good, right?

 

Let’s explore the story of Saul’s conversion and see what we can learn from it.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 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. 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. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 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. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. –Acts 9:1-9 (NIV)

Saul, whose name was later changed to Paul, had a very powerful conversion that brought him to faith in Jesus. For a long time, he persecuted Jesus and His disciples. Saul’s encounter with Jesus starts with a bright light that surrounds him. He converses with Jesus and comes to know the reality of Jesus, whom he had been persecuting. After seeing Jesus, Saul loses his eyesight for three days. Saul had to rely on the help of those men traveling with him to lead him safely to Damascus!

Photo courtesy Tobias Van Der Elst under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. –Acts 9:10-20 (NIV)

Despite Saul’s blindness, we learn he came to faith in Jesus through the encounter. He was praying to Jesus and saw a vision. Jesus appeared in a vision to a man named Ananias. After three days of blindness, the Lord used Ananias to restore Saul’s sight. Jesus tells Ananias that Saul was chosen to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles and to all. Saul was baptized and was filled with the Holy Spirit once his physical sight was restored. Ananias’ laying hands on Saul’s eyes was the help he received to remove the scales from his eyes, which led to the restoration of his physical sight. The disciples Saul spent time with helped him learn the good news that he proclaimed to all he encountered from that time forward.

 

Photo courtesy of Lawrence OP under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

Saul’s conversion story teaches us many lessons for our faith journey.

*Jesus can reveal Himself in our lives at any time.

*We can converse with Jesus like we do with our friends.

*We can repent if we are going down the wrong path.

*We journey with others.

 

*We need to be open to the Lord’s voice.

*Jesus chooses unlikely people to build His kingdom.

*The Holy Spirit is always available to give us power to spread the good news.

*We all have a role to play in other people’s lives.

 

How insightful to see that Saul had to be willing to receive help from the men traveling with him on the road to Damascus, a stranger named Ananias, and from the disciples in Damascus. We, too, need to gracefully accept help from people in our lives. We can provide healing in different forms for each other and grow closer to the Lord through the gift of letting others offer us help. As we let others help us, we are allowing them to be Christ to us.

 

Be encouraged this week to…

…see how you can help open others’ eyes see Jesus.

…receive help from others, maybe even a stranger.

…be vulnerable in faith, accepting guidance from others.

…travel with other disciples.

 

REFLECTION:
Who has helped you to see Jesus?
Who can you help see and know Jesus?

 

Can you please help write an ending to this reflection? How have you graciously received help from someone on your journey of faith? Please leave your comment below. Thank you!

 

So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  –Romans 12:5  (NIV)