Acts 9:1–19

Be still: Lord, meet me in the stillness of this moment — help me gaze into your loving eyes and lean into your loving embrace. I am here to listen. Amen

Read: Acts 9:1–19

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised. (v18)

Encounter: Not many of us know what it would feel like to have physical scales on our eyes, but we can all relate to the feeling of suddenly seeing a situation more clearly and realising that we’ve had metaphorical scales over our eyes. It's something like the feeling of being underwater and coming up for air, or being in the dark and a light turning on. 

I think of this forming of eye-scales as ‘drifting’. Not drifting away from faith necessarily but drifting in priorities, desires, the outworking of our days. It’s so easy in this world of social media and opinions by the bucketful to slowly be formed in our inner world without even realising. However, if we’re not intentionally being formed by Jesus, something else will, and as that happens, we drift, and the scales form over our eyes. 

I’m easily prone to drawing my significance from my work. What I do equals who I am and what people think of me. I can spend hours overthinking my purpose and my career path. Not bad questions in themselves, but they are a type of 'scale' that can easily blind me. If I let these thoughts become the source of my identity, I lose sight of my true source in Jesus. There are so many ‘scales’ that can blind — such as relationships, money, job title, appearance. Like Saul in this passage, through prayer and returning to God’s truth, these scales can fall immediately, and clarity be restored.  

Apply: What in your life do you think has become ‘scales over your eyes’? Where do you feel you may have drifted slightly from the desires and identity God has for you? Ask God to show you where you need the scales to fall. 

Devote: God, I’m sorry for where I have allowed other things to become priorities in my life. I ask you to remove the scales from my eyes, and to restore me to my true identity in you. Thank you that you receive me back, fully loved and forgiven.