January 29, 2026 

In Acts 9:1-6, Saul is actively pursuing what he believes is faithfulness when Jesus interrupts him on the road to Damascus. This encounter is sudden and disorienting, stopping Saul in his tracks and forcing him to confront the difference between certainty and truth. Jesus reveals that discipleship sometimes begins not with affirmation, but with redirection that reshapes both belief and identity.

Devotional: Saul is not confused or hesitant when Jesus meets him. He is certain. Focused. Convinced that he knows what faithfulness looks like and that he is living it out with conviction. He has a plan, authority, and a clear sense of purpose. From the outside, his life probably looks decisive and committed.

Then Jesus stops him.

The interruption is abrupt and overwhelming. Light flashes. Saul falls. The forward momentum he trusted collapses in an instant. Jesus speaks, not with condemnation, but with a question that cuts deeper than accusation. “Why are you doing this?” It’s not a question Saul is prepared to answer.

In that moment, Saul discovers something unsettling. He can be sincere and still be wrong. He can be passionate and still be misdirected. That realization doesn’t come gently. It comes with silence, blindness, and the loss of control he has relied on.

Discipleship sometimes begins this way. Not with reassurance, but with disruption. Jesus does not affirm Saul’s direction. He interrupts it. And that interruption, as painful as it is, becomes mercy. It stops Saul from continuing down a path that would harden him further and distance him from grace.

The days that follow are quiet and humbling. Saul must be led by the hand. The man who once moved confidently now waits, dependent on others. His calling unfolds not through action, but through surrender. Strength gives way to listening. Certainty gives way to trust.

This passage feels personal because many of us know what it’s like to move through life convinced we are doing the right thing, only to discover that something needs to change. We don’t always welcome redirection. It can feel like failure or loss. But Acts 9 reminds us that Jesus interrupts not to shame us, but to save us.

Christ is revealed here as the One who loves us enough to stop us when our direction leads away from life. He does not abandon Saul in the disruption. He stays near, guiding him step by step into a new way of seeing, believing, and living.

If you sense Jesus unsettling your assumptions, slowing your pace, or closing doors you felt confident walking through, this story offers reassurance. Redirection is not rejection. It is grace doing deeper work than affirmation ever could.

Action: Pay attention today to any place where your plans feel interrupted or uncertain. Instead of resisting the pause, ask Jesus what He might be revealing or reshaping through the disruption.

Prayer: Jesus, when You interrupt our plans and unsettle our certainty, help us trust that Your grace is at work. Teach us to receive redirection not as failure, but as mercy. Walk with us as You lead us into deeper faith and truer obedience. In Your name we pray, amen.

Thought for the Day: Sometimes grace arrives as interruption, not affirmation.

Saul was confident he was doing the right thing when Jesus stopped him in his tracks. This devotional reflects on how Christ sometimes reveals Himself by interrupting our direction, not to shame us, but to redirect our lives toward grace and truth.