Focus
Experience silence in the midst of your busy day. Take some time to relax into a time to be with God.
Read
1 Timothy 4:11-16
11 These things command and teach. 12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
Reflect
Ananias is obedient, even in the face of his rational fears. He trusts the Lord over his rationalizations, and as a result gets to be a part of one of God’s greatest movements in history.
Not only does he see God miraculously work at his point of obedience, the apostle Paul as Saul would become known, goes on to write most of the books of the New Testament and to take the gospel to much of the 1st century Roman world.
As Christians, the victories in our lives are often on the other side of fear as we walk in faith. Sometimes those fears are rational and not just emotional, like Ananias’ fears — there was a real threat in revealing himself as a Christian to Saul. If Ananias had chosen not to act, the Lord would still have healed Saul and sent him out in ministry, but Ananias wouldn’t have gotten to be a part of it. In the same way, our fears can keep us from experiencing all the good things the Lord has for us.
Pray
Heavenly Father, it is only in following You that we can be a godly example of wholesome conversation, purpose-filled living, demonstrable love, overcoming faith and God-honoring purity. You know our failings are many and we so often fall short of being the perfect example we would like for those we love the most. We make it our continued goal to point them to the only Perfect Example, Jesus Christ. And, though we will always fall short, we continue to make it our goal to live in accordance with the Scripture and follow Christ’s example. Amen.
Go with God!
