“Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have
heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy
name.” Act 9: 13-14
You never fully understand how much stuff you have until you
have to pick up and move. All of the
sudden, everything you own has to be organized, sorted, and
compartmentalized. This is no small
task. Who knew that you had three times
your body weigh in clothes? When did we
get all these Beanie Baby’s? Everything,
all your stuff, boxed up and labeled. To
a degree, the exact same thing happens within yourself. We are always obtaining, learning,
categorizing, and compartmentalizing ourselves; consciously and unconsciously. In that process, comfort zones begin to
form. We find what we like to share, and
find others that like the same thing. Voila! A peer group is formed and labeled. We have places we want to go and places we
don’t want to go; likes and dislikes.
The whole of ourselves labeled and compartmentalize just like our homes,
largely unnoticed until called upon to “pick up and move.” That is truly when you find out who you
really are, what you really love; when you’re asked to pick up and move.
In Acts chapter 9 we find the conversion of Saul to Paul. Saul was a Pharisee, persecuted the
Christians, and God struck him down. Saul
was then converted and in the process his sight was taken from him. During this time, the Lord was working on
another man as well; Ananias. Ananias
was a disciple and no doubt an active member in the church. The Lord came to him in a vision and told him
that he was to go see Saul and put his hand on him that Saul might receive his
sight. He told him that Saul was
praying. Ananias responded much like
many would: “I have heard by many of this
man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath
authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.” Ananias had already organized, sorted, and
compartmentalized Saul. He knew his
reputation, conduct, and that man, was not the kind of guy you laid hands on. Ananias initial response was one of a man who
was being pushed out of his comfort zone.
He was being called to pick up and move.
Saul was an unknown and it would take faith to obey the Lords will. He had Saul all boxed up in his own mind, but
what we MUST remember is that when you are a disciple of Christ it is not your
will but HIS. We may have a certain
person or situation labeled and boxed up, but when God calls you to move, it
doesn’t matter, we have to yield to that.
The more we compartmentalize and standardize, the harder it is to pick
up and move. Jesus told Ananias to “go
thy way” that Saul was a chosen vessel; and Ananias resolved that God’s way was
his way, and he went to the house where Saul was and laid hands on him that he
might receive his sight. Ananias trusted
God, picked up, and moved.
In your sanctified life, you are going to be continually called
to pick up and move. You are going to be
called to a situation or circumstance where you have to trust God. It may be a physical move, like, to another
town, city or country. It may be a
ministry, or a relationship that you must develop or let go of. When you are a disciple of Christ you have
crucified yourself and it is his will and not yours. Are there going to be comfort zones, and
social groups that you trend towards?
Sure. Most folks are not jumping
up and down to go preach to inmates on death row, or live with the elderly full
time, but that’s why its sacrifice, and that’s why its faith. We must as Christians realize that God is not
in a box (and certainly not our box); just because you feel comfortable
preaching to the white middle class doesn’t mean he wants you to only preach to
the white middle class. We have to pick
up and move. It may be hard and
uncomfortable, and it might cause us re-evaluate ourselves, but in the end it
is always “thy will be done”; and His will is best.
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