By Nicole Gregory, Principal of The Lakes College
Posted in Faith
Embracing Vulnerability: A Pathway to Spiritual Awakening and Transformation
In this earthly life, we walk around blind to much of the world. While many of us are blessed to have all our senses, it isn’t until one or more of them are compromised that we become more in tune with both the light and the darkness surrounding us.
When I imagine standing in Saul’s shoes on the road to Damascus, blinded to the world he’s known, I feel an overwhelming sense of vulnerability, a lack of control, and totally disorientated. I can imagine a sense of fear of the unknown consuming me. Yet when we hear stories of people who have lost different senses, it appears that their remaining senses are heightened, assisting them to navigate life in a different and sometimes more productive way.
In this scripture of transformational change, Saul’s initial deficit becomes an opportunity for what appears to be a spiritual awakening. Having his sight removed challenged his bias, causing him to rest in senses not quite as honed. Saul’s undernourished spiritual self was forced into action as Jesus challenged his current paradigm. Physical sight is removed for inner sight to evolve.
God knows that sometimes revelation only comes to us when our world is turned upside down. Disoriented, vulnerable and lacking control becomes the place where Jesus is waiting for us to find him. Our own Damascus moment, where God’s paradigm shift happens, because our vulnerability meets the work of the Holy Spirit. Saul transformed into Paul through God’s Grace.
‘So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptised. Afterward, he ate some food and regained his strength.’ (Acts 9:17-19 [NLT].
We need to ask ourselves daily, where is the place of vulnerability God is trying to meet me today?
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In celebration of Resthaven’s 90th anniversary, and coinciding with South Australia’s History Festival (1-31 May), Resthaven has today, 7 May 2025, launched its new ‘living history’ website: Resthaven: A History of Caring.
No matter the religion or denomination in which we are raised, our spirituality still comes through the first filter of our own life experience. We must begin to be honest about this instead of pretending that any of us are formed exclusively by scriptures or our churches or religious traditions. There is no such thing as an entirely unbiased position. The best we can do is own and be honest about our own filters. God allows and invites us to trust our own experience.
I am just like you. My immediate response to most situations is with reactions of attachment, defensiveness, judgment, control, and analysis. I am better at calculating than contemplating. Let’s admit that most of us start there. The false self seems to have the “first gaze” at almost everything.
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