Can God Use Someone With My Past? (Acts 9:1-19) | Daily Devotional & Bible Study

In this contemplative prayer episode we reflect on Saul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Saul thought he was doing the right thing until Jesus stopped him and called him into something new. If you wonder whether your past has disqualified you, this episode is a reminder that Jesus does not waste our story.

"But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.'" (Acts 9:15)

Questions this episode answers

What happened to Saul on the road to Damascus?

Saul was traveling to arrest followers of Jesus when a light from heaven flashed around him. Jesus spoke to him and asked why Saul was persecuting Him. Saul was blind for three days, then Ananias prayed for him, his sight returned, and he was baptized.

Can God use someone with a bad past?

Yes. Saul had persecuted the church, yet God called him a chosen instrument, and he became the apostle Paul. His story shows that God's grace is bigger than our past.

How does grace change a life?

Grace meets us where we are, but it does not leave us there. Like Saul, we are confronted with the truth, forgiven, and given a new purpose. Grace turns us toward Jesus and the work He has for us.

Links

Saul became Paul, and on our Rome trip every November we walk the Appian Way and visit the Mamertine prison, places tied by tradition to his story and the early church.

Bible Study Live is a small-group Bible study trip with Rachael Groll. Study Scripture where it happened in Rome, or slow down for a contemplative Bible study retreat in Maui. Dates and details at BibleStudyLive.org

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