The Damascus Road by David Jeremiah

Friday, March 2 The Damascus Road    As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Acts 9:3    On a journey home from the University of Erfurt, where 21-year-old Martin Luther studied law, a frightening thunderstorm suddenly enveloped him. A lightning bolt flashed and struck so close that Martin, petrified, cried out, “Saint Anne, help me! I will become a monk.” Shortly thereafter, he entered an Augustinian monastery and eventually traveled to the little town of Wittenberg to teach at the university.

Recommended Reading: Acts 9:1-9

His mentor, Johann von Staupitz, assigned him the books of Romans and Galatians. While studying, Luther’s eyes were opened to the true Gospel message—salvation by grace through faith. This discovery was a Damascus Road experience for him, and he devoted his life to advancing the cause of the Gospel. We’re often on the road to life as we design it when God intervenes with storms, lightning bolts, mentors, and the Gospel message. Every one of us needs a Damascus Road experience. It may not be as dramatic as Paul’s or Luther’s, but we need a moment in our life when we understand and receive the Gospel. No one is the same after an encounter with God. His Living Word changes everything! The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me. Martin Luther