I was reading this morning from Acts 9, and I noticed something today I’ve never noticed before.

The story starts out with a man named Saul, in the early days after Jesus had died and rose again. The disciples were “turning the world upside down” going from town to town telling everyone about Jesus. They had a new message to get out to everyone; this Jesus wasn’t just a prophet, wasn’t just a healer, He was the Messiah – the One who was sent to save the Jews. This was revolutionary. The Jews believed that their Messiah was going to come one day and overthrow Rome, so this was huge news for them. Many people believed that Jesus was God and followed Him. Many did not. But the end result of this uproar was revival in the streets, and riots in the streets.

This was a direct threat to the Jewish men in power – the Sanhedrin. In particular, there was one man named Saul that was on a direct rise to power. We see him a few chapters earlier, when a disciple named Stephen is being stoned. Saul is the guy watching the coats of the people stoning Steven. This is back in Acts 7, and if you have time it’s worth the read. Stephen gives an impassioned speech that goes through the whole history of the Jews through the old testament, and he ends with Jesus as the Messiah.

To these Jewish church leaders, this was heresy. They had built their entire lives (and their salvation) on the idea that if they followed the law well enough, they would be close to God. This idea actually has roots in scripture. In fact, in the Old Testament (before Jesus), God gave the Israelites the Law. They call this the Torah and follow it to this day. It’s the first 5 books of the Old Testament, including Leviticus, which has tons of rules for all different scenarios. They were to follow the Law to the letter, not messing up and not breaking any rules. If they did mess up, or break a rule, they had to bring a sacrifice to the priest to cover their sins.

There was only one problem. The Law wasn’t meant for salvation. By that I mean; the Law was strict, and thorough, and literally impossible for a human to keep. There’s no physical way that we could ever keep that many rules and never mess up. We are human, born with a sinful nature because it’s been passed down from generation to generation. The Law wasn’t given so that people could keep every bit of it and then make it to heaven because of how good they were. The Law was given to show each of us that we can’t keep it. We can’t make it to heaven on our own. Our own isn’t good enough. Even messing up on one tiny thing was enough to get you kicked out of line for heaven. The Law was there to show the people that they weren’t good enough on their own, and to get them used to a pattern of bringing a sacrifice to a Holy God to atone for those mistakes.

Back to the Jewish guys in the Sanhedrin.

Saul and these others had built their lives and staked their futures on their ability to keep the Law to the letter. They did this for their jobs, and they were really, really good at it. They even went so far as to add more stipulations on the rules that existed, making it harder for people to keep the laws. They were like hungry sharks, looking for people who were breaking the law and then punishing them publicly.

Saul was eager to prove to the leaders that he was one of them. He saw these men who had been with Jesus going around and preaching the same things Jesus had; the Law was no longer, Jesus was the once-for-all sacrifice for our sins.

This was a threat to everything they had built.

Saul had built his life trying to impress the leaders of the Jewish church, and now their reputation and their futures were at stake. If these radical men continued, Saul would be out of a job. People wouldn’t be coming to the priest for sacrifices, they wouldn’t need someone to stand over their shoulder and approve or disapprove of the way they cut their grass.

So Saul jumped into action.

He started hunting these disciples down, taking them to jail one by one. He watched Stephen murdered in the streets and he approved of it (Acts 7:60) and then he jumped in to help. But, he was on his way to Damascus when his plans for destruction ran smack into God’s plans for His people.

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.

‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting’, he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'”

Acts 9:3-6

I can’t imagine. He was probably speed walking, maybe running, in hot pursuit of these radicals that were turning his life upside down. If he was anything like me, his blood was probably boiling, and his mind was probably racing with thoughts of what he was going to do when he caught these guys. Then, out of nowhere – BAM. He gets caught in what probably looked like a flash bang or a huge lightning explosion. It knocks him physically to the ground and stops him in his tracks.

The Bible says the men with Saul could hear someone’s voice but they couldn’t see anyone. When Saul got up, he couldn’t see anyone either, because this encounter left him completely blind! The men led him by the hand to Damascus, where he didn’t eat or drink anything for 3 days.

Here’s where the story gets interesting for me. I mean, all of that is crazy, but it’s a story I’ve heard before. This part got my attention. Pick back up in verse 10:

“Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, ‘Ananias!’

‘Yes, Lord!’ he replied.

The Lord said, ‘Go on over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.'”

Acts 9:10-11

There’s a couple of things here. First of all, look at Ananias’ response to God. God speaks to him in a vision, and he’s all ears. This isn’t the first time the Lord has spoken to Ananias this way. I know because He’s spoken to me too, not in visions, but in small whispers to my heart. And when I listen and obey, He speaks louder, and He asks me to do bigger or stranger things that I don’t understand, but that always make sense in hindsight. I always have a choice to obey or not though. If I choose not to obey, He stops speaking. He asks someone else to do what I’m unwilling to do, but He always accomplishes His work. It’s my choice whether or not I want to be part of it.

Second, look at the instruction God give Ananias. It’s pretty clear. I don’t remember ever seeing another verse in the Bible where God literally gives someone the street name of the place He wants someone to go. He tells him to go to Damascus, to find the house of Judas over on Straight Street. This was important to God. There was no room for error, no time for Ananias to be wandering around the city looking for a blind man.

Now, look at what God tells Ananias about Saul – “he’s praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” This part is so incredible because it’s such a picture of how God works, and how His heart is toward us. Saul was praying. This hardened man who was hunting down God’s people started to have a conversation with the One he has hated, and immediately God listened and went to work. God heard Saul’s prayer and immediately started preparing Ananias to come help him. But Ananias needed a little pep talk to get over there, just like I do all the time.

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls on your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

Acts 9:13-16

Ananias was afraid, understandably so. He had heard about Saul, the guy who was here to throw people in jail just because they were Christians. Saul had permission from the priests, who were in charge and could give that kind of power, to arrest people who prayed. These may be a couple of short verses in the bible, but this is no small thing that God is asking Ananias to do. If he obeys, Ananias is facing serious jail time at the very least, just for praying for Saul. I’m sure Ananias wondered if this was some sort of trap- if Saul was praying just to see who would come talk to him, so that he could arrest them.

But, here’s what I noticed.

Ananias is honest with God. He lays out his fears, and tells God what he knows; this guys is bad news, and I’m not sure about this. Ananias knows that if he obeys, he may be thrown in jail, or worse.

But when God answers, he doesn’t even address Ananias’ unspoken fear, because He doesn’t have to. He says, Go. Saul is the one I have chosen.

Here’s the thing. When God asks you to do something, there will always be a risk involved. Risk of injury or death, risk of looking foolish, risk of losing a job or a loved one. That’s how we learn to trust Him. He asked Ananias to obey, even without knowing what would happen. Even if he went to prison, even if Saul was lying, Ananias’ job was to obey. Look at the rest of what God tells Ananias – I’ll show Saul how much he will suffer for my name’s sake.

If you are a believer, or just starting to follow Christ, know that things aren’t always easy. God doesn’t promise that. He promises to take care of us, just like He took care of Saul and just like He took care of Ananias. But He doesn’t promise that there won’t be risk involved.

“So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward, he ate some food and regained his strength.”

Acts 10:17-19

God did something amazing in and through Saul. He changed his name to Paul, and he went on to be one of the most famous preachers and Christ followers in the New Testament. And the cool thing is that God chose Ananias to be a part of it.