Sometimes God asks us to do hard things and we would rather disobey than obey Him. It was not easy for Ananias to pray for Saul. He objected when God told him to meet the man. He even listed Saul’s activities before God. Saul had persecuted Christians in Jerusalem—and he had authority from religious leaders to send Christians to prison. (Acts, 9) Surely God knew that Saul’s character made him an obvious enemy of God’s people.
But God overruled Ananias just as He had overruled Saul: “Go, for he is a chosen vessel . . . .” (v. 15a ) Ananias had to put personal feelings and fears aside. He had to forgive a man he thought was his enemy.
Ananias struggled, but God knew Saul’s nature, and God knew Saul’s future—how Saul would respond. Saul’s conversion was both immediate and drastic. He began preaching in synagogues and everyone was amazed because the man who persecuted them had become a believer.
Saul went on to become Paul. He traveled the Roman Empire for Jesus and he wrote much of our New Testament.
And Ananias? He is remembered as the person who obeyed God when it wasn't easy. Through his obedience he helped launch the ministry of the remarkable apostle Paul.
Originally published November 13, 1992.
Picture: Commercial landscape, Grand Forks, 2009. Photo by Solveig.
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