Holy Spirit Lesson 8 Companion Devotional

A normal man can walk or run 15 miles a day. What we see around us are not normal people but average people who think if they walk to the fridge they have gotten their daily exercise! Just because we all aren’t running great distances doesn’t mean that it is not normal to do so. We have learned to settle for average which is really subnormal.

I think the book of Acts depicts the normal Christian life. Just because we don’t see healings and miracles, signs and wonders in our daily lives doesn’t mean that it is not normal to do so. We have just settled. So today I want to look at an obscure man in the book of Acts and see what we can learn from his life about normal Christianity. His name is Ananias. You may not remember Ananias because he is not a lead character in the Acts narrative, he is only mentioned in a few verses in two chapters. You might easily overlook him. He was not an apostle or an elder of the early church. If he were alive today he would not be a blue check. He was just a regular guy. We may be able to identify with him and that is why I want to focus upon him.

I want to put Ananias front and center because of his obscurity. I want to learn from his example about the normal Christian life. We aren’t given a lot of information about him. All we know is that he was a disciple, a follower of Jesus from Damascus. He was “devout by the standard of the law and well spoken of by all the Jews.” Acts 22:12. He was faithful to God in his daily life.

We don’t know if Ananias was in Jerusalem the day the Spirit of God was initially poured out on the believers at Pentecost. We don’t know how much experience he has had with things like praying for healing or praying for the filling of the Spirit or giving prophetic words. When we meet him in Acts 9 it has only been a few years since that pivotal day on Pentecost. At this point in time no one has had much experience with the things of the Spirit in New Testament/post ascension Christianity.

Let’s see what we can learn about the normal Christian life from Ananias. The Lord, who sees hearts, appeared to Ananias in a vision, so having a vision may not happen often, but it is part of the normal Christian life. We also see the Lord is personal, He knows us by name, and so he calls, “Ananias.” The response of Ananias to the Lord is important. He wasn’t preoccupied with his own agenda, Ananias was immediately available to the Lord. “Behold, here I am, Lord.” Acts 9:10. Ananias had a spirit that was listening when the Lord spoke, he was interruptible and he was available.

The Lord said, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”Acts 9:11-12

Ananias was listening and available but he did not immediately swing into full-steam-ahead obedience. He didn’t understand. He needed some clarification. He had heard how Saul was persecuting the church in Jerusalem and that he had gained the authority to come to Damascus to persecute the church there. Appearing before Saul might put his life at risk. Maybe Ananias had misunderstood God. Or maybe the Lord needed some background information on Saul from Ananias! Maybe He did not know about Saul’s plans for the believers in Damascus. Ananias was confused.

He had an honest question, so he took it straight to the Lord. He didn’t fuss around complaining to others that God was asking him to do something that didn’t make any sense. He sought clarification straight from the Lord. The Lord did not rebuke Ananias for questioning Him. Instead, the Lord answered his question, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.” And Ananias, just so you know, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:16.

Ananias now understood the Lord knew exactly what He was asking him to do. And so he immediately obeyed the specific instruction. He didn’t shrink back, because he felt threatened by Saul or inadequate to pray for healing or the filling of the Spirit. He knew that what God had called him to do He was able to perform. Ananias swung into action. He departed and entered the house where Saul was staying, laid hands upon him explaining, “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 there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight and he arose and was baptized. He took food and was strengthened. Acts 9:17-19. Ananias obeyed the word of the Lord and just as God had said Saul was healed, his sight was restored and he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ananias also gave a prophetic word over Saul that previewed his future, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance form his mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” Acts 22:15

Then Ananias departed from the pages of the Bible and went back into obscurity in Damascus, undoubtedly remaining a faithful follower of Jesus all the days of his earthly life.

Ananias lived the normal Christian life. In the course of that life he was faithful in his hidden day to day moments. He knew the Lord personally. When the Lord called his name he was interruptible and available. He set aside his own agenda, died to self and basically risked his life to go before a sworn enemy, Saul. He took his questions straight to the Lord who loves to give confirmation and clarification. His radical obedience brought incredible fruit. Through his prayers and availability the ministry of Paul, a ministry that is still touching people today, was launched. Obscure Ananias is a great example for you and me as we seek to live a normal Christian life.

Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you for the obscure hidden people everywhere who serve you. We want to be like Ananias who listened for your call and was available. Help us to die to self, to risk all to follow you. Thank you that you are gracious to give us confirmation when we don’t understand your will. Help us to step up to the plate and radically obey you. Help us to live the normal Christian life.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen