Your Obedience Can Impact A Generation
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. Acts 9:10-20
Reading about the events that happened in Acts 9:10-20, you see that there was a man named Ananias who was a believer and a disciple whom God asked to do something. Obedience is one of the gestures of love and respect between parent and child, teacher and student, and God and His children. When God asks you to do something, it’s because He has a relationship with you just as He did with Ananias.
Ananias was commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to go to a certain town and look for a man named Saul (who later became Paul). Saul was known for persecuting and murdering Christians; the Lord asked Ananias to lay his hand on this man so that he may see again after being blinded for three days. Ananias was surprised by this and didn’t understand why the LORD would ask him to do such a thing, knowing that this man was notorious for killing believers. So he said to the LORD, “Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:13-16)
Much of the time, God will ask you to do things that won’t make sense to you, such as when Ananias too didn’t understand what God meant by telling him to lay his hands on a man known for persecuting Christians. Sometimes, God may ask you to serve the person you hate most, or, for example, He may use your leaders in Church to ask you to do a task that is not what you expected. You can perceive things only according to your own understanding, but God sees all sides of life. Like Ananias, who only perceived the murderer in Saul while the Lord knew an apostle was being birthed in Paul, you are not required to understand everything. God needs you to just trust in Him and obey.
Ananias simply obeyed and trusted God, not relying on his own understanding ( Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight). And because of his obedience, we now have the Apostle Paul, who was greatly used by God to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. Ananias’ obedience brought spiritual birth to one of the greatest apostles in the New Testament. Because of this, the obedience of Ananias still impacts today’s generations through the Apostle Paul’s life: “And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”
When God makes you do things that don’t make any sense, simply trust in Him and obey as Ananias did. You never know the impact of your obedience, which may change someone’s life today. What is the LORD telling you to do right now? What is the Holy Spirit convicting you of and revealing to you?
