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Acts 9:13 NLT
“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!
I remember the breathless enthusiasm with which I would make my way to the front of a meeting in response to the preacher’s invitation. Excited about what God might do, internally I was pleading for a prophecy or in some significant way to be picked out. This had more to do with my own self-aggrandisement than my humble submission to God’s will. Little would I have expected and much less have welcomed a commission to do something that appeared to increase my discomfort or place my safety at risk. I cannot recall one single meeting which I attended where a word such as Ananias received was delivered.
Although scripture tells us little of his height and weight, his reaction tells us he was feeling somewhat diminutive faced with God’s request. The reason I love Ananias is because he is literally the ordinary one in scripture. We know nothing of his history, or his future. The scripture only records him this one instance. Yet his obedience, once he found his faith-fuelled courage, changed the face of Church history. His ministry was to identify, confirm and release the evangelist to the Gentiles in the world.
Certainly as I made my way to the front in those innumerable meetings I was wired to serve God in whatever way he guided and to go wherever sent. Yet this was a bravado of the moment, induced through great preaching and stirring worship. What might I be like in the cold light of day, if given Ananias’ commission? Would I have ever made my way to Straight Street?
My life is high on well-intentioned rhetoric. However, I’m slow to place myself in a situation of risk. While I know God will neither fail nor forsake me, I’m not convinced I am that ready to neither fail nor forsake my nearest and dearest. Life is comfortable, and I don’t want God throwing a discomforting spanner into my works.
QUESTION: Are you consistent in your walk and witness?
PRAYER: Lord, give me the courage to obey you as your servant Ananias obeyed.
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