Acts 9:13-17

Summary retelling of Acts 9: 13-17:

Ananias shows a little bit of fear.  Ananias explains to Jesus that He has heard about Saul and how much Saul is persecuting the church.  Ananias reminds Jesus that Saul has the same authority to persecute the church in Damascus as he does in Jerusalem.  Jesus explains to Ananias that He has personally chosen Saul to go to the Gentiles and the powers of Israel.  Jesus explains to Ananias that Saul will suffer for His name.  Ananias went to Saul and laid his hands upon Saul, declaring what he knew about Saul’s incident with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Thoughts for Today:

First Thought:

Notice that Ananias is honest with Jesus.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with being honest with God – so long as you ultimately trust Him.  Jesus knows that many things that He asks us to do are going to be hard and they are going to challenge us.  We are foolish if we think we can hide our fear from Jesus.  Furthermore, notice that in talking about His fear with Jesus Ananias finds the ability to overcome his fear.  Bringing our fears and  worries before Jesus will naturally help us overcome them through His power.

Do you tend to hide you fear?  Does your fear ever paralyze you?  How can revealing your fear help you see it and overcome it?

Second Thought:

Ananias ultimately trusts Jesus.  This is key, especially when talking about one’s fears and how they might get in the way of following Jesus.  When we are hesitant to do something or we question something Jesus tells us to do we must always do it under the assumption that we will ultimately let Jesus have His way and follow Him.  From this perspective Jesus can help us.  If we are stubborn and argue with Jesus without believing that we will eventually do His will we are just being argumentative and an obstacle to His will.  And trust me, you don’t want to be an obstacle to Jesus!

Is it difficult to be open to anything even though we might be afraid of it?  How do we become open to anything that Jesus might ask of us?

Third Thought:

Ananias goes to Saul.  Can you imagine the fear and trepidation that Ananias must have had.  Saul had every authority to have Ananias arrested once he declared that Jesus told him to go to Saul.  Yet, Ananias obeyed.  Ananias risked everything to follow God.  This is the portrait of the genuinely faithful.

Would you have been able to go?  Why or why not?

Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 9:18-19