9:10 Now there was a
certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a
vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I
am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to
him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of
Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a
vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so
that he might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias
answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has
done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief
priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to
him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles,
kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he
must suffer for My name’s sake.”
17 And Ananias went his
way and entered the house...
What would you have done if you were Ananias? Obedience is a
funny thing. Most of us only obey if we agree.
I heard a story about a farmer many years ago who was about
to retire. His son had just returned from Agricultural College and was full of
new ideas a techniques. His father told him he was taking his mom on a tour of
the world and they would he gone for most of the year. He was leaving him in
charge to run the farm. He also left him with clear instructions on what crops
to plant and where. He told his son that he would return in time for the
harvest and if everything was as he had instructed the farm would become his.
In college the young man had learned about soil sampling and
now had a tool that measured the various nutrients in the soil and what told
you what kind of crop would grow best in that soil. Just before seeding time he
went around to each field and tested the soil. To his amazement every test
matched exactly what his father had told him to plant. He was impressed.
Finally at the last field the tester said to plant corn but his dad had
instructed barley for that field. Finding it odd he tested the soil again. The
result was the same. To make matters worse barley was way down on the list of
crop types for that kind of soil. What should he do? He knew what his dad
wanted but the tester was so accurate. Surely a healthy crop of corn was better
than a weak crop of barley. Hoping to impress his dad with a huge crop from his
new soil testing skills he went ahead and planted corn.
Fall came and his parents returned. The fields were rich and
full and would soon be ready for harvesting. Proudly the son took his dad from
field to field. Every crop was just what he had asked for and were doing so
well. They came to the last field and as the tall stalks of corn came into view
the father's face and heart sank. "Son I asked you to plant
barley..."
"I know dad but I tested the soil twice and it said corn
was the best crop and barley was way down on the list."
"I know son but I asked you to plant barley. I asked you
to follow my instructions. I told you that if you followed my instructions I
would give you the farm. The truth is you never followed any of my
instructions. You only agreed with me when my instructions matched your
tests..."
Isn't that how we are? We have no trouble obeying when
obedience matches our point of view but what happens when obedience crosses our
opinions? God asked Ananias to go and meet a murderer and a hunter of Christ
followers. It was like God asking a Jew to go meet Hitler and pray for him.
Ananias was horrified and he told God exactly how he felt. God asked him a
second time to go and this time he went. Would you? Would I?

Obedience isn't obedience until it demands the sacrifice of
our will and full trust in God. Obedience can be frightening and when it is we
know that our trust in Him is not yet absolute. Like s muscle trust/faith
develops with use. Each decision teaches us to trust more or hardens us against
trust.
Next time you are tempted to flee from something God is
asking you to do I encourage you to consider this question: When has God ever
failed someone when they put their trust in Him? You can also consider this
question: How many times have you trusted yourself and it ended badly?
Trust Him - even when it seems insane.
No comments:
Post a Comment