A Year with Jesus: 'Risk-taking & Faith-filled'

Dear Beloved,

What is the greatest obstacle that you face?

What seemingly insurmountable forces are at work against you?

Keep these two questions in mind as you read the verses below about Saul, the persecutor who became My great proclaimer of the gospel especially to Gentiles.

My disciples were growing in number and impacting areas outside of Jerusalem and Judea. They shared My message everywhere they went. Persecution was mounted against them with the martyrdom of Stephen and drove them out of the original areas of proclamation. In the process, Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles were becoming My disciples. In response to this growth, the Jewish powers aligned against My people sent Saul of Tarsus into neighboring lands to arrest Jews who believed in Me. This same Saul was the one who oversaw the execution of Stephen (Acts 7:59-60; Acts 8:1-3). He was sent to bring My disciples in Damascus back to Jerusalem in chains to face imprisonment, persecution, and possible death (Acts 9:1-2).

The people of Damascus knew he was coming. They knew what he had done. They knew what he was supposed to do in their city. If you were a believer in Damascus, what would you have done?

You would have prayed for deliverance!

And what would you have expected from your prayers?

You might have expected deliverance, but probably not in the form in which deliverance came! When faced with a great obstacle, most believers would never expect that obstacle to become their leading advocate and ally in sharing My good news. When faced with a seemingly insurmountable force, most would not expect that antagonistic force to become the great force for reaching the nations with My grace. However, I answered their prayers about Saul, their persecutor, by making him My spokesman to the Gentiles. Saul met Me on the road to Damascus. He became a believer. Later, he became the great apostle to the Gentiles you also know as Paul!

We — Father, Son, and Spirit — are the sovereign God! Our ways are not your ways. Our thoughts are not your thoughts. Our plans are not your plans. But even in Our sovereignty, We do not force men or women to do what We want them to do. They must choose to do it. Saul had to choose to believe. He chose to risk everything to follow Me. He chose to entrust himself to the very people he came to persecute. Ananias of Damascus, with some extra reassurance, chose to participate in My plan by reaching out to Saul. He knew the reports of all that Saul had done and was planning to do in Damascus. Ananias had to risk his safety, his freedom, and his very life to obey Me. Both Saul and Ananias responded to My call with obedience. Not only were their own lives very different from that day forward, but My people in Damascus, Syria, Phoenicia, Samaria, and Galilee were spared the rampaging persecution of Saul.

Saul paid a high cost. While he was accepted by believers in Damascus, Jewish opposition soon mounted to his presence in the city. To escape from those who wanted to take his life, he was lowered in a basket through an opening the city wall. Saul returned to Jerusalem, where the church received him reluctantly. He was finally accepted because of the influence of Barnabas. However, Jewish opposition to Saul mounted in Jerusalem, and the church did not have peace until he left and went home to Tarsus. He had lived for an extended time in Arabia and Tarsus before he re-entered the life of My church as an apostle (Galatians 1:13-24; Galatians 2:1-2).

Saul went from being a legendary persecutor of My disciples in Jerusalem, which gave him favored status among the Jewish religious leaders, to being an exile as far as the leaders were concerned. He gave up his favor, status, and influence with the Jewish religious establishment to become a Christian convert living largely away from the church in Jerusalem. All of this high cost was My preparation for him to become the most influential missionary the world has ever known.

I used Ananias to remove both the physical and spiritual scales from Saul's eyes. Ananias was privileged to hear Saul confess Me as Lord and Christ and then baptize him. But if Saul had not given his life to Me, Ananias could have lost his life trying to do what I asked him to do. He demonstrated great faith in the face of great risk!

So here are some points I want you to consider while you read this powerful story of risk, change, salvation, and mission.

First, I can turn things around in ways you would never expect; so pray! Pray in faith. Pray with confidence expecting Me to act.

Second, great movements led by the Holy Spirit often begin with a few people risking in faith to do what I have asked them to do. You never know how much hangs in the balance when I ask you to obey Me. Please know that what you do with what I ask of you matters immensely!

Third, you live in a time where many offer an easy form of Christianity. This easy, watered-down pseudo-faith doesn't require action, demonstrable change, or taking risks. It is not real faith. That is why so many languish in lukewarm Christianity. I am calling you, along with them, to risk-taking and action-oriented discipleship. As you read this amazing story of Saul and Ananias, please let the Holy Spirit stir your heart to follow Me with passion and with a willingness to take risks in faith.