I suppose I will start out this blog with a simple question: Is there someone in your life that you should be reaching out to?
Simple right? Of course. I am sure we can all think of someone that we should be reaching out to help. Do we actually reach out to them though? Typically what I have noticed is, no, we don't; we fail to do anything at all. Why? Sometimes we are just afraid to stand up and do what is right, other times we truly don't know how to go about it. Most of the time, we run away instead of just having a little faith and jumping on in. Grab your Bibles folks; let's jump in.
Acts 9:1-19
What is this?!!?!? - For those of you that don't have a Bible with you or just haven't looked it up, let me explain: These are key verses in the Bible for Saul, you know that pretty bad guy that seemed to hate everyone. He had been "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (v.1) so obviously he was not a follower of Christ or devoted to God.
So one day, on the road to Damascus, Saul encountered the light from heaven. He was blinded and fell to the ground. Then Jesus spoke to Saul, telling him to "enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do" (v.6). The men Saul had with him then led him to the city of Damascus.
Now for my favorite part and whole point. Along comes a dude named Ananias, a disciple of the Lord. Ananias was told by the Lord to go to the street called Straight; guess who he is going to see? Saul, of course! Ananias is somewhat weary about what the Lord has asked him to do, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." (v.13-14) Clearly Saul is a very powerful man and is feared by many, The Lord knows this but he also knows that Saul is going to play a huge role in spreading His word.
Even if he did not fully understand, Ananias obeyed the Lord and went to the house of Judas and laid his hands on Saul, saying " Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." (v. 17) As soon as those words were spoken, Saul regained his sight and was then baptized. (v. 19)
To me, we are all Saul at one point in our lives, meaning we are all blind until we finally come to Christ. It is not until we receive the Holy Spirit that the scales fall from our eyes, giving us true sight. Then once we see, we become Ananias of sorts. Given a task to reach out to those in need of the Lord. The only thing that remains is actually pushing forward. If you recall, Ananias seemed pretty scared of going and speaking to Saul, but he also had complete faith and trust in the Lord. That is where we are different from Ananias. We are given the task to reach out to someone, but until we overcome the fear and we trust that God will guide us and God will help us, we can not reach them. If we just trust in God and His word, reaching the unreachable will be possible.
If you just trust Him and be an Ananias, you will reach your Saul. You will change someones life. You can't give up though, no matter the challenge. It may your be your best friend, your parents, your siblings, no matter who it is God has called upon you to reach, you must not give up. His word will guide you and His word will help you. When you feel like all is lost, just cheer up buttercup. Be strong, don't be afraid, God is with you.
It sure is good to be back.
