“Where angels fear to tread”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, July 8, 2023
Acts 9:10-19a (Forward, p. 71) CEV p. 1144
An age-old saying goes like this: “Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread”, and certainly Ananias had a well-grounded and entirely rational reason to be afraid, afraid to take Jesus at His word and do as He had commanded. Saul (later Paul) of Tarsus had quite a reputation, and not a good one, at least among the followers of Jesus! He had been present at the stoning of Stephen and had consented to it, had persecuted followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, and now in his zeal to root out entirely this ‘hated’ Jewish sect had obtained permission from the chief priests to continue his pursuit of Christians over to Damascus and arrest any that he could lay his hands on. So, Ananias had good reason to be wary of this man, and, to be somewhat hesitant about going anywhere near him—even if the Lord had ordered it!
Nevertheless, Ananias did as he was told, and searched out Saul and prayed for him. It is interesting—and noteworthy—that in addressing Saul, Ananias immediately addressed him as ‘brother Saul’, an indication that Ananias was already taking Jesus at His word. At this rather early point of time in terms of Saul’s career he was already treating Saul as a fellow Christian, even though he had not yet seen any tangible evidence of any conversion or change of his ways. What faith! Wow!
What an inspiration this should be to all of us. Probably most of us—at some time or other—have received a prompting (whether it was from the Lord or not we aren’t sure) that seems absolutely ridiculous, absolutely fool-hardy—like certain times in my life when I felt compelled to say sorry and make amends, for instance! It was truly a case of ‘where fools rush in’, or so it seemed to me. But then, God incredibly ‘worked things out’ and things went very well. That’s how it was for Ananias when he obeyed and can be for us as well. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Forward notes: “Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord’” (verse 10).
“Not everyone is willing to hear and obey the Lord unconditionally. I have met people who attend church because they expect some benefit but are not willing to serve. They pray: ‘I will follow you, Lord, if you give me…’
“We cannot impose conditions on God. We must follow God as Ananias did. Although he initially hesitated to receive Saul—understandable given Saul’s reputation as a persecutor of Christians—Ananias is obedient to God. He lays hands on Saul, who soon becomes known as Paul the Apostle, who spreads the good news of Jesus to lands far and wide.
“It is totally human to have fears and doubts, yet we have to follow the witness of Ananias, to overcome them and be willing to serve. When we give ourselves unconditionally, we will enjoy the fruits of obedience.
“When you hear God’s call in your life, do not hesitate to answer: ‘Here I am, Lord.’”
Moving Forward: “Make plans to receive in your home someone whom you do not know well.”