"Unlikely Encounters"

And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against goads." So he trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" And the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."  And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts9:3-9
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I was thinking about what an unlikely encounter this must have been. I think that it is safe to say that the last encounter that Saul planned on ever happening when he left home that day to travel to Damascus breathing threats and murder against the disciples was with the Lord Jesus himself.  I think its pretty interesting Saul immediately recognized that he was in the midst of a Godly encounter and asked, "Who are you, Lord?" He calls Him Lord, before he finds out that it is Jesus, the one that he has been fighting against. It says that he is trembling and astonished when he finds out that it is Jesus Himself. He immediately believes, calls Him Lord, and surrenders to His will. I love that his response isn't to ask for mercy, or for his life, after all he was trembling for a reason; he knew that he had been persecuting the disciples, but instead, he immediately asks, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Jesus simply says, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."  And here is the thing. He does it.

He gets up from his unlikely encounter with Jesus, finds himself blind, and has the two men with him take him into the city. Then he waits. Day one goes by. He waits. Day two goes by. He waits. Day three. He waits. He doesn't eat or drink. He waits. For three days he prays and waits for what comes next. During his wait God gives him a vision of what is to come. He knows that a man named Ananias will come lay hands on him and he will receive his sight once again. Acts 9:12 To those of us reading this account it might seem that nothing was happening during those three days before the Lord instructed Ananias to go lay hands on Saul's eyes but in reality his unlikely encounter was still in full swing. In verses 11 and 12 it tells us that he actually spent his time praying as well as receiving the vision about Ananias's coming to him to lay hands on him that he might once again receive his sight.

In Acts 22:10 Paul gives his account of what was really happening during his three days of blind waiting. He was surrendering his will to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ and learning about all that was in store for him! ..."So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?" And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do."... His testimony about that time waiting and blind in the city is this, "He was told all things which were appointed for him to do."

To wait on the Lord is something that we all, like Paul need to experience. To 'wait' in the Strong's means; to bind together with. Paul, because of his unlikely encounter with Jesus, actually came to a place where he was no longer fighting against Him but instead he bound himself to the Lord Jesus Christ and he spent the three days talking, sharing, and learning all about the Lord's plans for his life. So what started out as an unlikely encounter ended up in an up close and personal encounter that affected countless lives for the glory of God!