Talking Back to God

When the Lord called Ananias to go and meet with Saul of Tarsus, he had some reservations, but in the end he trusted the Lord and faithfully went to Saul as the Lord asked. Unfortunately, Ananias' obedience was not shared by everyone in the Bible. Talking back to God seems to be quite popular both in the Bible and in the church today. Moses was called to go and speak to Pharaoh. He talked to Pharaoh, but not until after he had made multiple excuses to God why he couldn't go. Jonah was called to go Nineveh and preach. He went to Nineveh and preached, but not until after some intense (or should I say intestinal) persuasion. Jesus told Peter of the crucifixion He must suffer and Peter rebuked Him. Yet, Jesus went to the cross, just as God planned.

Do you notice a pattern? God calls someone to do something. They respond with "no, not there," or "no, not me," or maybe even "no, not now." Then what happens? The Lord's will is accomplished, irregardless of their resistance and protests. The only apparent variance in these stories is the amount of persuasion and/or discipline the individual had to endure before they surrendered to the Lord's will.

What a great example Ananias serves for us. Yes, he had some reservations about going, but when God reassured him, he went. We could all save ourselves from God's persuasive measures, if only we could learn to say "yes" the first time we hear Him call.