Can God use our scars for his glory?
Text: Acts 9:1-31
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2025 CrossTalk Global
Kent: Foreign.
Nathan: Hi, this is Nathan Norman. During the month of July, we're taking a break from recording and bringing you some of our best episodes from the last four years. We'll begin recording new material in August. Until then, enjoy this look back.
Brian: It's impossible to get through life without scars. Physical scars are often a result of accidents, burns, surgery, acne and illness. But scars can also be emotional. Occasionally, these are caused by a single event, like a relationship breakup or a parent's divorce. But much more common, however, are dozens of smaller mental scars from events that leave behind painful memories, regrets, confusion, and unresolved emotional pain. Our instinctive reaction is to hide or minimize our scars so people don't know about the poor choices or painful experiences of our past. But while other people in our life may look down at us because of our scars, does God do the same? Can God use our scars for his glory? Does he? Join Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitzges, and Nathan Norman as they look at how God embraced and utilized one of the most scarred people in Scripture to be one of his most effective servants in Acts Chapter nine. Welcome to crosstalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but to take the next step beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all our lives. I'm Brian French. Today, Dr. Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitzges, and Nathan Norman continue their discussion through the Book of Acts. And if you have a Bible handy, turn to Acts chapter 9 as we join their discussion.
Vicki: In my opinion, the Apostle Paul is one of the most unlikely heroes of the Bible. I know he's famous, wrote so much of the New Testament and so on, but still, he seems like the last person you would think would have that kind of status in the Bible. Do you agree?
Kent: Oh, I agree. I'm studying him in another study. And if you look at his early life, you would think he was going to end poorly. I mean, he went around. Seriously, he went around killing Christians. And he was a man of energy and passion, and he put all of that energy and passion into killing Christians.
Vicki: Yeah, no, he did. Back in Acts chapter seven, we read about Stephen a few weeks ago, and Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven. What did he say? Starting in verse 56, he said, look.
Kent: He said, I see the heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.
Vicki: At this, they covered their ears, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.
Kent: But meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a Young man named Saul.
Vicki: Who's Paul? Ooh, that's our first introduction. He was fully in favor of people killing Stephen, who was, you know, a good guy. Right.
Nathan: Well, and you think about if you have read the Gospel of Luke, right? You read through that, and then you get to Acts, and you come across this Saul character. He looks like the enemies of Jesus, the religious leaders on steroids.
Vicki: Right.
Kent: Well, and he was.
Nathan: He's like the absolute worst of them all. It's like, wow, those guys were really bad. Oh, this guy's even worse. He's more zealous than they were about all this.
Vicki: Well, and Luke makes us understand the full depth of his hatred of all things God. In chapter nine, starting in verse one.
Kent: It says, meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and he asked them for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Vicki: I mean, this guy is serious.
Kent: Yeah. That's what he does. That is his job. And he was smart. He wasn't like, oh, well, maybe I'll go to Jerusalem. He was smart, and that's what he did. He was calculating and he was a killer.
Vicki: Yeah, he used his influence, influence of the courts. He was leveraging everything he could to put this Christianity thing to bed, to get rid of it. Nathan, you got to help me here. I understand he's super passionate about destroying the Christian faith. Why? I mean, what turned his buttons here?
Nathan: Well, as we talked about a few weeks ago, he understood the Scriptures better than you and I. And he was convinced from his interpretation of Scriptures that Jesus was not the Messiah, that he was the enemy of God, and that the best way he could help God out is to murder Jesus followers.
Vicki: Right? So his passion for God and his misunderstanding of the Bible, misinterpretation of the Bible, led him to turn his zeal for God against God and against his work in the world. So, you know, I read this, and, you know, many of us have read this before. You just know that God's going to, you know, tap Paul on the shoulder. But I have to ask why? I mean, we're going to read that God's going to use Ananias to help redirect Saul away from his murderous past into God's kingdom work. But I guess as a cynic, I say, why wouldn't he just use Ananias? Why? You saw, Ananias seems better qualified in every way to fulfill the role of evangelist and so on. I think I could make a case for it. Vicki, do you think you could?
Kent: Well, maybe he was already a Christian, and he was a mature Christian.
Vicki: Yeah.
Kent: And God trusted Ananas. Right?
Vicki: Right.
Kent: And people knew him. He was, you know, like a stalwart in the church there.
Vicki: Right.
Kent: And. And Paul was a baby Christian. I mean, he'd just been struck on the road, and then all of a sudden, Bam's in business, working for the Lord.
Vicki: Yeah. So it kind of makes me say, if you got to choose someone, why choose Paul? Why not Ananias? But God chose Paul. Man, did he choose Paul. In fact, the story is just quite amazing. We read about it here, starting in verse three.
Kent: Now, remember who we're talking about here. This is a guy who's killing Christians and lots of them. And he has the favorite of the Jewish people and leaders, too. They're throwing their coats down going, hey, go for it. Go for it, you know? So Paul nears Damascus on his journey, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground, and he heard a voice say to him, saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. He replied, now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound, but they did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus for three days. He was blind, and he did not eat or drink anything.
Vicki: Guys, do you remember when God drew you to himself?
Kent: I do. I was a girl. I was a little girl. I was at a camp, and a magician came and spoke to us. And I remember it was very stirring.
Nathan: Yeah, I think I was a Christian for most of my life as a kid. But, you know, eventually you have to take ownership of it. And when I was a teenager, I was very sick as a teenager. And so mostly home and going through all kinds of doctors. And I remember one night going to bed knowing that I was going to die. I can't explain it other than that. I can tell you, my grandmother, like, she told the guy who's filling up her gas tank, and he's like, oh, there's a big storm coming in. And she's like, I'm not gonna be here for it. Like, she knew she was gonna die. She just knew. And I've known a number of people over the years. They knew that And I can't explain it other than that. And I kind of made peace with it. But then I woke up the next morning, and I was genuinely surprised, like, what happened? And I felt God say to my spirit, I'm not done with you yet. You still have work here.
Vicki: I remember maybe I was somewhere around the age of 12, maybe, and I was at an evening service at People's Church in Toronto, Canada, and the pastor was preaching an evangelistic sermon. I must have heard I don't know how many evangelistic sermons in my life before that, but. But he really caught my attention. And he told a story of a person that he had preached the gospel to, that he just felt this urgency. And he looked up in the balcony on this one occasion and just felt like he was talking to that young man directly. The man didn't respond. That night, on the way home from church, he was killed in a car accident. And he said, you just can't wait. And, man, I'll tell you, I think I ran to the front, not out of fear. I'd heard the gospel, but I heard it differently that night. I mean, it was real. It was powerful. God just took control. So I'd not been knocked off a horse and didn't have Jesus personally talk to me. But, yeah, God moved, and he moves in people's lives. He calls them to himself. And he called Saul. And he did go to Ananias. And Ananias placed his hands on Saul, and, well, he spoke words that Paul needed to hear.
Nathan: Ananias placed his hands on Saul. He said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who. Who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized.
Vicki: Wow. And for those of us who may have thought maybe Ananias should have been chosen instead, maybe God could have made a better choice than to pick Paul or Saul. The text would disagree. I mean, look what happens in this chapter. I mean, it's just truly amazing. In verse 20, what do we read?
Kent: Well, I will say it is amazing because he used that same good mind, fervor, interest, passion, and he just totally went 180 with it. And he went, whoa, I was killing the wrong people. At once. At once, at once. He began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the son of God. All those who heard him were astonished. Don't you know they were? And he asked, isn't this the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name. And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?
Vicki: Yeah, look how the tables have turned.
Kent: Oh. After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him. But Saul learned of their plan. Day and night, they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
Vicki: So the persecutor suddenly is the persecuted.
Kent: Absolutely. And he was brave, you know, I mean, he went from killer to killee. And he was still. He knew all about that stuff.
Vicki: And the change was so dramatic that not everyone was immediately convinced, Right.
Kent: Oh, don't you know that the Christians were like, whoa, watch out for this dude. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him not believing. And you could see it, you know, not believing. He was really a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and he debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. And when the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Vicki: Again, the irony. Paul had come to persecute Christians with the authority of the Jewish establishment. And now the Jewish establishment was persecuting Paul. And again, Paul's initial desire was to disrupt everything that was happening in the church. And instead, because of God's intervention, look what happened in verse 31.
Kent: It said then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened, living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Vicki: So what made Paul such an effective preacher of the Gospel? Well, because as we just read earlier, he could talk and debate with the Hellenistic Jews. Right?
Kent: Because he used to be one.
Vicki: Because he used to be one. Nobody could know the inside and outs of all their arguments. And no one could refute them better than a guy who used to be one. And that's why in Damascus we read in verse 22.
Nathan: Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
Vicki: You know, back in verse six, we read that when Saul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was blind for three days, right?
Kent: Yeah.
Vicki: Right. So what do you think Paul was doing during his three days of blindness before he met Ananias? What do you think he was doing.
Kent: A lot of thinking.
Vicki: Ah, yeah. Why?
Kent: What else could he do?
Nathan: He was wrong.
Kent: He couldn't see. He couldn't see.
Vicki: And who had he just met?
Kent: The Lord. Is that what you mean? Yeah.
Vicki: I am Jesus.
Nathan: The one you are persecuting.
Vicki: And who, oh, I don't know, died on the cross. So it was the resurrected Christ that he saw that made him realize, darn, I was wrong. I have been totally wrong. He was not an enemy of God. He must be the long promised Messiah. And no wonder. God could told ananias in verse 15 that Paul is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. He is my chosen instrument. He's the one I want to use. Look, the fact is, Paul's persecutors passed, paved the way for this success he was enjoying with the presentation of the gospel. I find it fascinating that the scars of his past life, I mean, face it, he sinned big time, right?
Kent: Big time?
Vicki: Oh yeah, big time. He made huge mistakes. But the scars of his past life also gave him the perspective and passion he needed to appreciate and proclaim the gospel of grace. Notice his tragic decisions in the past gave him the clarity he needed to devote the rest of his life to sharing God's truth with the entire world. God did not reject him because he had made mistakes in the past. God chose to use his scars for his glory. I am just overwhelmed by that. That's God's pattern. He uses our scars for his glory. Didn't he do that with Moses?
Nathan: Yeah, he tried to start a rebellion, killed an Egyptian guard. And that was pretty pathetic. And he went in exile for what, 40 years?
Vicki: The world's worst rebellion. Yeah, I mean, and he left without his suitcase. He had no resources. He just fled into the wilderness. Bad, bad rebellious leader.
Nathan: But then God said, let me show you how I'm going to deliver my people. And the Exodus happens.
Vicki: Yeah. And he used God's power in ten miracles not only to get them out of Egypt, but to destroy Egypt's army in the Red Sea. Or think of Joseph in Genesis. I mean, he had a terrible childhood, right? I mean, his brothers hated him. No matter what he did, he suffered a lot. But God ultimately used those experiences to form his character so that he could reshape the lives of his sin twisted brothers so that they could turn from pariahs to the pillars of the Jewish faith. They became from pariahs to patriarchs. God used Joseph's scars in order to be used in Significant ways. And he doesn't only do it in Bible times, he does it today as well. Right. Do you remember the man? Charles Colson. Chuck Colson. Oh, yeah, Yep. Yeah. What was he famous for?
Nathan: His. President Nixon's hatchet man.
Vicki: That's him. The whole White House, Watergate thing.
Nathan: Right, right.
Vicki: And so what happened? He failed morally, was convicted, sent to prison. And so did that ruin his ministry?
Kent: It started his ministry. He started Prison Fellowship. And I was a young reporter at the time, and I remember the other reporters going, oh, this is just a ruse. And it's still going strong. He's. I don't know if. Has he died since then?
Vicki: He has.
Nathan: He passed away about 10 years ago.
Kent: Yeah, he died. But Prison fellowship's still going strong.
Vicki: Right. Notice how God takes our failures and uses them for his glory. He didn't discard him. God used him. The same thing could be said of Joni Eareckson. Tada. Oh, yeah.
Nathan: She had a diving accident, left her paralyzed from the neck down, confined to a wheelchair. And now she has a radio ministry. She has a thriving ministry to, well, not just people who are disabled, but to everyone. I mean, you listen to her and the joy that she has. She has no reason to have the joy that she has. There's nothing good about her situation. There isn't. There really isn't. The joy that she has comes from the Lord. And that's very evident whenever you listen to her or talk to her or read material about her.
Vicki: And her scars launched her ministry. Right, right. Look, God put his sovereign hand on the apostle Paul. He took a man who hated Christ and persecuted his children and decided to make him my chosen instrument to proclaim my name. I just get so encouraged by that. We live in a fallen, sin scarred world and every one of us has scars from the past. We don't need to hide our scars. I think we can embrace them. I think God can use the scars of our past for his glory in ways that we could never ever have imagined. Look, if anyone listening is thinking, I have made mistakes, things have happened to me that have destroyed my ability to be used by God. I would say God can and wants to use you. God chooses to use imperfect people to introduce others to their saviors. He used Paul. He can and will use you.
Brian: If you have a scar or a wound or a sin. And you think that disqualifies you from ministry. God can and will use you if you let him. God uses imperfect people, all of us, to get his work done. I trust that today's discussion of God's Word has been helpful and served as an encouragement to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers together. Let's bring God's Word to life, to our lives. This week, the crosstalk Podcast is a production of crosstalk Global, equipping biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more about this educational nonprofit organization, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org. you can also help support this show by rating it on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you're enjoying it. Be sure to tune in next Friday as we continue our discussion of the Book of Acts. You won't want to miss it.
Kent: Glowing countenance compared to Y' all.
Nathan: Got great lighting. Yeah, you got that touched by the angel lighting.
Kent: I do.