Description: Learn from Ananias, who was commanded by God to do something terrifying: minister to the church's most feared enemy. His story teaches us how to move from fearful hesitation to faith-filled obedience.
Scripture: Acts 9:10-19a
Explanation: In this passage, the focus shifts to a faithful disciple named Ananias. God gives him a clear, direct command in a vision: go and minister to Saul of Tarsus. Ananias's reaction is entirely human and understandable. He responds not with immediate, blind obedience, but with hesitation born of fear and logic. He essentially tells the Lord, 'Do you know who this man is?' He recites Saul's reputation as a violent persecutor, the very man who has come to Damascus to arrest believers like him. This wasn't rebellion, but a plea for understanding based on the terrifying facts he knew. Yet, God's answer is not a negotiation; it is a reaffirmation of His sovereign plan. God reveals that this instrument of terror is now His 'chosen vessel.' The critical moment is Ananias's response. Despite his legitimate fear, he chooses to trust God's word over his own understanding. He obeys. His act of faith was the essential human step God used to bring Saul fully into the fold, a powerful example that God often calls us to minister to those we may fear or mistrust, requiring our obedience above all.
Parable: Let me tell you about a retired police officer named Bill. He ran a small ministry that helped former inmates readjust to society. One day, a young man named Leo, recently paroled, was assigned to his program. When Bill saw the name, a cold dread washed over him. Leo was the man who, years earlier in a high-speed chase, had run Bill's partner off the road, leaving him permanently disabled. Bill had testified against him, his heart full of righteous anger. Now, God was asking him to help this very man. Bill prayed, 'Lord, you can't be serious. This man ruined my best friend's life. He's dangerous. He deserves nothing from me.' The feeling in his heart, however, was a firm, quiet insistence from the Lord: 'Go thy way: for he is a vessel I choose to use.' Bill wrestled for a full day, his fear and bitterness warring against the Spirit's prompting. Finally, trembling, he chose to obey. He met Leo at the halfway house. The young man was gaunt and broken, expecting only scorn. Bill looked him in the eye and said the hardest words he'd ever spoken: 'Leo, my name is Bill. The Lord has sent me to help you.' He saw the shock in Leo's eyes turn to tears. As Bill mentored him, he saw a genuine, radical change in the young man's heart. Leo had met Christ in prison and was desperate to make amends for his past. Bill's painful act of obedience became the bridge that allowed God's restorative work to be completed, not just in Leo's life, but in Bill's own bitter heart as well.
Moral: The story of Ananias teaches us that true faith is not the absence of fear, but obedience in the face of it. God does not always call us to easy tasks, but He always calls us to faithful ones. When we choose to trust His commands over our own feelings and limited understanding, we become crucial instruments for His redemptive and sanctifying work in the lives of others. As Proverbs 3:5-6 (ASV) instructs us, 'Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths.'