In 2010 Pastor Doug Healy, of Celebration Church Aliso Viejo, shared a sermon with
this same title. As I thought about this
topic this week I was drawn to a story found in Acts 9 about a man
inconvenienced by a miracle. I also was thinking of how we humans are really
into being comfortable and how we seem inconvenienced by every little thing. We
now have a world filled with back supports, shoe gels, recliners that float in
the pool, stretch jeans, sleeves for our coffee cups, hats with beer straws, kickstands
for our tablets, pillow top mattresses and now even sleep numbers. This
might come as a shock but God isn’t really concerned about our comfort. He is
engaged in a higher realm that only takes a small percentage of our physical
condition into consideration and comfort is way down on the list. True… He
cares about our health and wellbeing, our heart and our mind but whether you
are inconvenienced by a task He might need you to perform or a calling for your
life that could make us afraid or squeamish – not so much.
Below is the story
from Acts 9:
Meanwhile, Saul was
still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to
the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in
Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to “the Way”, whether men
or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus
on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the
ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now
get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling
with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8
Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see
nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind,
and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there
was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him,
“Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named
Saul, for he is praying. In a
vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to
restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias
answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has
done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from
the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said
to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the
Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much
he must suffer for my name.”
Then Ananias went
to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul,
the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has
sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see
again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he
regained his strength.
There were many people in this
recounting of Saul’s journey to becoming Paul that were inconvenienced by the
Lord’s plan. Saul’s traveling companions, Saul himself, and Ananias. I imagine
those in the house where Saul went to stay were also affected by the
events. And if Ananias was married, I’m sure his wife heard about the
Lord’s calling and could have been in fear for his life or may have provided
comfort and a listening ear for her husband’s thoughts about this assignment.
And if he was whining about it, she was definitely inconvenienced.
The attention in this story is on
Saul but if we put ourselves in the place of Ananias it may provide a better
comparison for our own journey of faith. In today’s political arena this
would be like being asked to go and pray for the leader of ISIS. The
spiritual battle is God’s focus and, while it should be ours too, we do have to
deal with the fact that we may indeed be afraid or squeamish when called
on. Ananias shows us what to do. Take our concerns to God. Let’s
face it, He already knows how we’re feeling. So, we should talk to Him
about it and let Him provide that reassurance only He can give through His Holy
Spirit. The story doesn’t tell us what Ananias said or did after he
prayed for Saul but can you imagine the story of this miracle he now had to
share with his wife, his family, and his congregation!!! What a
testimony. Perhaps he was the one that baptized Saul??!! Can you
also imagine how close he felt to God and the confidence he could cling to the
next time God spoke to Him? This was truly an amazing work of God for so many
more people than just Saul.
God may not do things as we would
like but He has His reasons. Reasons we might not see until later and
some we may not ever know. Even with all of the upheaval this plan caused as it
was happening, in the end we can see this was the best way to reach Saul;
turning evil to good.
Pastor Doug had these main points in
his sermon: Use the inconvenience to
build strength, ask God for insight to see the opportunity, trust God is
working. Using these tips will bring an assurance that God is in control
and that through all situations He will stand by us and lead us. We can
also be assured that we will get to know Him better in the end. We might even find
we’ve had some scales removed from our eyes (or our hearts) so we can see our
faith grow beyond any inconvenience.
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
1st Corinthians 1:25-27
**Lord, I
am weak. I get scared easily and aim for
the least difficult way to get things done. Please help me see what you are doing and
realize that your ways are higher than my ways and they are certainly of a
greater purpose than my simple desire for comfort. Forgive me for being blinded
by the scales of self-centeredness. Thank you for choosing to use me anyway and
I give you my life. **
Here is a link to a great song about
Miracles by The News Boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zKNl0WJB57g 
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