These thoughts have been inspired by the Prayer and Fasting meditations that members of Horley Baptist Church considered during February 2020. Here, we look at the passage suggested for Friday 14th February:
Acts 7:57-8:3; 9:1-22
Ananias – a small cog in the greater gear-train of the establishment of God’s Church on earth but, as with most systems, the small cogs are equally essential to the functioning of the whole enterprise. Cogs in a system have no power of their own; their job is to transfer a driving force to somewhere where it can have an effect. A small cog spins faster than larger ones and is often hidden behind them but without it the more prominent cogs could not make their own contribution to the final outcome.
How do we feel about being ‘little cogs’? Do we feel that we are working harder than our colleagues yet our effort is achieving very little? Unnoticed? Maybe. Essential? Certainly!
Some have criticised Ananias for questioning God’s instruction but I prefer to think of his response as confirming the vision. Unlike Moses in Monday’s reading when he gave a string of excuses, Ananias’s single question can be seen as an assessment of the situation prior to carrying out the instruction without further procrastination. This act of faith has preserved Ananias’s name throughout church history.
There is a parallel here with our thoughts about Gideon earlier this week. Both Gideon and Ananias took a little time to confirm what they understood as God’s will. Taking time to pause and think is applicable to many aspects of our lives; the Bible has a word for it – “Selah”[1]. In both cases the short period of confirmation quickly gave way to obedience.
In the wider context of our passage it is easy to overlook the role that Ananias played. In recounting these events later, Paul describes Ananias as “a devout observer of the law and highly respected”[2]. In other words, he was ready for service. Are we ready to be engaged in God’s grand scheme even though it means being just a small part of the eventual outcome?
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[1] “Use Selah to take a pause to think about what the Scripture says” from Christianity.com
[2] Acts 22:12
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
