Acts 9:17-19 NKJV

[17] And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [18] Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. [19] So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

Early on in our marriage, my wife loved to randomly rearrange furniture. She wouldn't move just a piece or two. She liked to change the entire orientation of a room. Couches, beds, dressers... nothing was safe when she was in pursuit of a "better" layout.

I vividly remember one night, she decided to go to bed early. Unbeknownst to me, she had completely rearranged our bedroom, moving the corner of a cedar chest right into the path between my right pinky toe and the toe next to it. The calamity that happened next would have never happened if I could have seen the path I was taking. I can't repeat all that I said, but none of it was helpful, loving, or kind.

In the days before Ananias arrived, Paul spent that time in complete darkness. Being in an unfamiliar place without the ability to see can make anyone feel vulnerable. Pride, arrogance, addiction, anger, lust, and bitterness are all blinders. Our scales may look different, and they may not render us completely blind, but they can keep us from seeing the way God wants us to go.

My scales fell off in a rehab center. When they did, I couldn't wait to go and experience REAL worship for the very first time. In some strange way, I think I know how Saul felt when he regained his sight. My path hasn't looked the same since. I spent enough time in the darkness to really appreciate the Father of Lights.