🕊️ PRAY HERE Devotion 🕊️ Criminal But Still Chosen

Scripture: Acts 9:13-15 (ERV)

“But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the terrible things he did to your holy people in Jerusalem. Now he has come here with authority from the leading priests to arrest everyone who worships you.’ But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! I have chosen Saul for an important work. I will use him to tell other nations, their rulers, and the people of Israel about me.’”

Devotion: I really went back and forth between two titles for today’s devotion:

Forget What You Heard

and

Criminal But Still Chosen.

The truth is… today’s scripture deals with both.

Have you ever been hesitant to meet someone because of what you heard about them?

Maybe you started a new job and before you even met your supervisor, a coworker said,

“Watch out for them. They’re impossible to work with.”

Or maybe someone at church said,

“Don’t fool with that person. They have a terrible attitude.”

Then after you finally met them yourself, you realized they were nothing like the picture people painted.

Whew!

You cannot always go by what you hear.

Especially the rumor mill.

Now, let’s be clear.

Sometimes what people say is factual.

But rumors rarely give you the whole story or the full context.

That is where Ananias found himself.

Everything he had heard about Saul was true.

Saul had imprisoned Christians.

He had approved of Stephen’s death.

He had terrified the church.

So when God told Ananias to go pray for him, his response was basically,

“Lord… are You sure?”

I understand Ananias’ hesitation.

I probably would have had the same questions.

After all, Saul had been doing terrible things to the saints…

…and Ananias was one of the saints!

But here’s where faith comes in.

Ananias had to get out of his own head and trust God.

Because if God gives you an assignment, He is not sending you into danger outside of His knowledge.

He already knows what He is doing.

Glory to God!

Look at the Lord’s response in verse 15.

“Go!”

I hear your concerns…

Go!

I know what you’ve heard…

Go!

I see fear trying to paralyze you…

Go!

I know you do not understand everything…

Go!

Whew!

I pray somebody hears the Lord saying that today.

Go.

Go start the ministry.

Go apply for the job.

Go forgive.

Go apologize.

Go pray for them.

Go witness.

Go where I told you to go.

Stop allowing fear to keep you from obeying Me.

Glory!!

Now let’s talk about Saul.

People love to think you have to be perfect before God can choose you.

But Saul’s life proves otherwise.

God did not wait until Saul got saved.

He did not wait until Saul stopped persecuting Christians.

He did not wait until Saul cleaned up his life.

No!

God chose him while he was still on the road to do more evil.

My, my, my!

That ought to give somebody hope today.

I don’t care what you have done.

I don’t care what people call you.

I don’t care what mistakes you’ve made.

God still wants to save you.

And He wants to use you to help save others.

What the saints saw was a criminal.

What God saw was a chosen vessel.

Whew!

God saw Saul’s heart.

He knew something the saints did not know.

Saul’s intentions were sincere, but his understanding was wrong.

He truly believed he was honoring God.

So God did not throw him away.

He sat him down.

He humbled him.

He corrected him.

He saved him.

And Saul became Paul, one of the greatest messengers for Christ in biblical history.

Look at God!

Now let me ask you something.

What has God chosen you to do?

Have you ever really sat with yourself?

Removed all distractions?

Fasted?

Prayed?

Listened?

When Saul lost his sight, he stopped everything.

He fasted.

He prayed.

And he waited until God answered him.

Maybe that’s where your next breakthrough is; not in doing more, but in getting still long enough to hear from God.

May this devotion deliver you from fear.

May it free you from judging people only by their past.

And may it remind you that your past does not cancel God’s purpose for your life.

God bless you!

Prayer: Father God, thank You for looking beyond my past and seeing the purpose You placed inside of me. Forgive me for allowing fear, assumptions, or the opinions of others to keep me from obeying You. Help me trust Your voice above every other voice. Lord, give me the courage to go wherever You send me and to do whatever You ask of me. Remove pride, fear, and every distraction that keeps me from fulfilling Your purpose. Thank You for Your grace that meets me where I am and transforms me into who You have called me to be. Use my life for Your glory, and help me never judge another person beyond what Your grace can do.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. 🙏🕊️