Experience: S2 - Day 10

The risk of taking a new path

Acts 9:10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord!” he replied.

11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

This passage offers us another classic look at God calling someone to do something and they respond by saying, “Me?  Do what? You’ve got to be joking!”

Plenty of other greats in Scripture had this same response.  Abraham and Sarah were too old, Moses was too scared, David was too small, Jeremiah was too young, Mary was too virgin, Peter was too obnoxious, and Saul?  Well, he was too much of a murderer.  But through all these stories, we’re shown time and time again that God seems to know what He’s doing.  Abraham and Sarah become parents, Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt, David beats Goliath, Jeremiah becomes the prophet to Israel, Mary gives birth to the Son of God, Peter becomes the rock upon which Christ will build his church and Saul?  Well, he becomes the first missionary to the gospel of Jesus Christ and is responsible for most of the New Testament.

All Ananias had to do was trust that God knew what He was doing. No, it didn’t make any sense to Ananias, but God still asked him to trust, move, and go to one of the most dangerous men of this early movement and help him see Jesus.
That’s all anyone is asked to do; we’re asked to help other people see Jesus more clearly. There are times when that’s scary, times when we may not agree based on what we know, but always times when we’re asked to trust God.
And in case you didn’t realize it, the rest of us can be thankful that Ananias chose to trust God.

Questions:

1. Have you ever been asked to do something you were sure you couldn’t do?  How did you respond?
2. Have you ever had someone in your life that you thought was the last person God would use to do anything, that God did use to do something?
3. What in your life do you need to trust God with today?