Thursday, July 28 – Acts 9:17-19

So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened.

 

Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus.

When is the last time you walked into a situation you felt totally uncomfortable and unprepared for, but you went because you knew it was the right thing to do? Maybe it was a hard conversation with a friend or going to make things right with someone you weren’t on good terms with. We try to avoid moments like this at all possible—we don’t naturally enter things we feel uncomfortable and unprepared for.

In today’s passage, two men were put into a situation they both felt uncomfortable and unprepared for. Ananias was sent by God to restore the sight of a man who had been trying to kill him and his fellow Christ-followers. Paul was sitting in a house, blinded by God and waiting on the Lord with no healing in sight. God used Ananias’s faithfulness to perform a miracle and Paul’s obedience to prepare him to spread the testimony of Jesus Christ to Gentile people everywhere.

We’re often afraid of feeling unprepared and uncomfortable: when we feel this way, we’re spurred to spend our energy “gearing up for the attack” or “going on the defense” instead of going to another person. Or, if we fear we’re not ready, we often do nothing. Trusting God is who He says He is conquers such fear and puts us in position to see His Holy Spirit in action, saving and transforming lives.

• What are some callings from Scripture that make you feel uncomfortable?
• What would it look like to trust God in uncomfortable situations?
• Pray and ask God for boldness and greater trust in Him so that you can be obedient when He calls you in those uncomfortable times.