10Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” [simple_tooltip content=’10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.’](Acts 9:10-22)[/simple_tooltip]
God called Ananias’ name, and he answered, “Behold, I am here Lord.” What would have happened if Ananias had not been there? What if he had been doing something else and was not listening to God? The Lord might have found somebody else to do His will, but we don’t know for sure. We can say this: Ananias would have missed the greatest opportunity of his life! How many people get to lead someone to the Lord who impacts the world like the apostle Paul did?
There is great significance in the fact that Ananias was there. He was in a place of communion with the Lord. He was listening and attentive to Him. This doesn’t come overnight. Certainly Ananias had spent much time in God’s presence. How many days, weeks, or years had Ananias spent seeking the Lord before this time? As far as we know, God hadn’t done anything before in his life that was as spectacular as what He was leading him to do at this time. However, Ananias remained faithful. He was there when the big opportunity came.
We often fail to recognize that we aren’t normally going to see angels or have visions during our times of fellowship with the Lord. We won’t always have goose bumps running up and down our spines. There is just the gentle peace and assurance of faith that God is with us. The spectacular comes only on occasion, but we must constantly practice waiting on the Lord. We must always be on call.
Do you think God has ever called you and you weren’t there? Don’t let that happen today. Make sure your antenna is up and your faith is switched on so that when the Lord calls your name, you’ll hear Him.
