You Want Me To Do What?!

25 Jan

Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  (Acts 9:17)

Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles is rather frightening, for two people: Ananias and Saul.

Saul, who was a very respected man of faith and who thought that he was doing God’s will met the Lord on the way to Damascus and was blinded.  He heard a voice and found out that the voice belonged to Jesus.  Saul believed that Jesus’ resurrection must have been made up and that His followers were a threat.  Only in the encounter on the road did he learn the truth.

He was also instructed to go into the city and be met by a man, Ananias.  Saul was instructed to put his life into the hands of those who knew his murderous intent.

Ananias knew all about Saul.  He knew that Saul had all the documentation he needed to arrest anyone who professed to be a follower of Jesus.  No Christian was safe in the presence of Saul.

It was to Saul that God told Ananias to go.

Ananias was filled with fear but did what God had instructed.

In their encounter, Ananias laid his hands on Saul and Saul was able to see once again.

Saul did a complete turn-around in his life.  What he had at one point rejected and brutally fought he now claimed as his own: belief in Jesus Christ.

Our lives can be filled with fear and dread.  But faith in Jesus is a game-changer.

FAITH ACTION:  As you pray, ask God what He wants of you today.  Ask him for the courage to accept His will and to do what He wants.