I must admit I always chuckle a little when I read the story of Ananias. (Yes I said chuckle) If you're unfamiliar with Ananias let me catch you up. In Acts 9, Saul is "breathing out murderous threats" and heads to Damascus to hunt down and imprison any followers of The Way (Christians) that he can find. Saul has become well known for his brutality against believers and word of his mission has spread to the people of Damascus. It is there where we find Ananias.
Ananias, a devoted follower of Christ, is called to in a vision. In the vision, (Acts 9:11-12) "The Lord told him, 'Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying (12)In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." This is where I chuckle . . . because I can just imagine the look on poor Ananias' face. "You want me to do WHAT LORD?" I know the look because I have given the look. God tells us to do things that we so often are blown away by; as is the case here.
Ananias is given a major task by God. A task that he feels is dangerous, and perhaps could even cost his life. So, he feels it necessary to enlighten God. (insert chuckle here) "Lord, this guy is bad news - he's mean and he's coming here to arrest us. Lord this is not who you want me to go see." (my translation) After enlightening God, Ananias is told . . . "Go!" In other words, no balking, I know all things . . . just go. With great obedience and faith, Ananias then goes, and brought Saul from his blindness. Ultimately, his is a great story of obedience; yet the beauty of this story goes even deeper. It goes to the heart of how God leads us.
When God calls us to a mission, we often forget that He has already gone before us. He never calls us to a mission and says "Good Luck - not sure what's going to happen really, but best of luck to you." No, when He calls, He knows. In this story we see that Saul has already been dealt with by Christ. Christ himself has appeared to Saul and in His marvelous light, has literally blinded Saul. Furthermore, after Saul is humbled by Christ, he is also given a vision. God gives him the vision to expect Ananias to come visit him and heal him.
I am so guilty of forgetting and/or ignoring God's Sovereignty. When God called Ananias, I can relate to the fears he must have felt and the uncertainty of God's mission. However, the uncertainty only was in man's heart, because in God's heart and in God's plan all things were already taken care of. God went before Ananias. And He will go before you and I.
May we all rest in the certainty of God's mission today. May we all rest in the Sovereignty of God today. So that the next time we hear Him saying "Go!" . . . we will trust, and we will go.
**Image taken from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/gosign4c.html
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