Tuesday, February 17 [Saul] then got up and was baptized.​—Acts 9:18.

[Helen Highwater]

Tuesday, February 17

[Saul] then got up and was baptized.—Acts 9:18.

 

What helped Saul to get baptized? When the glorified Lord Jesus appeared to him, Saul was blinded. (Acts 9:3-9) For three days, he fasted and no doubt meditated on what he had just experienced. Yes, Saul became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah and that his followers practiced the true religion. There are lessons that we can learn from Saul. He could have allowed pride or fear of man to prevent him from getting baptized. But he did not allow that to happen. Saul was willing to become a Christian even though he knew that he would be persecuted. (Acts 9:15, 16; 20:22, 23) After his baptism, he continued relying on Jehovah to help him endure various trials. (2 Cor. 4:7-10) Your getting baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses may lead to tests of faith or trials, but you will have help. You can be confident of the unfailing support of God and of Christ.—Phil. 4:13. w25.034 ¶8-9

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Saul’s account also highlights something quiet but powerful — the role of humble obedience after conviction.

When Ananias arrived, Saul did not argue credentials, background, or prior zeal. He accepted direction from a disciple he would previously have viewed as beneath him. Later, Saul himself would write: “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” (1 Pet. 5:5) His own life had already demonstrated that principle before he ever penned it.

 

There is also the matter of immediacy. Acts says he “got up and was baptized.” There is no record of delay once understanding was clear. That pattern harmonizes with the counsel at Hebrews 10:22: “Let us approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith.” Assurance leads to movement.

And finally, notice that Saul’s baptism did not remove difficulty; it clarified direction. His trials intensified. In 2 Timothy 1:12 he later said: “I know the one whom I have believed.” That knowledge did not protect him from hardship, but it anchored him within it. Baptism is not an escape from pressure. It is a declaration of allegiance that redefines how pressure is endured.