A deep dark period in our life?

It is interesting that during the process in which the Lord saved and called Saul,

it is mentioned that he did not see anything for three days and did not eat or drink

(Acts 9:9).

The Lord told Saul, "Go into the city, and you will be told what you must do" (v. 6),

and he also appeared in a vision to a disciple named Ananias in Damascus,

instructing him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street

and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come

and place his hands on him to restore his sight (vv. 10-12).

In between these two events,

Saul went for three days without seeing anything, and he did not eat or drink.

Perhaps Saul was fasting and praying.

However, what's intriguing is that he did not see for three days.

This reminds me Matthew 12:40 -
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,

so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Perhaps there are times in our lives when we need a deep period of darkness,

whether it resembles being in the belly of a huge fish for "three days" (not literally)

or being in the heart of the earth, where we can't see anything,

feeling helpless and powerless, unable to ask for help from anyone.

It's during these times that our ego needs to be thoroughly broken, shattered, and crushed,

 experiencing our human incapacity and helplessness to the bone.

Only then, I believe, do we fully and wholeheartedly

rely on and trust in the Lord for salvation.

It's at that moment that, as those called and commissioned by the Lord,

we are transformed into people who are willing to give up our lives

for Jesus Christ and the gospel

(Mark 8:35).