Come As You Are: Intro

Come As You Are: Intro

Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel.”

This verse comes just after Saul has seen a vision of Jesus, and Jesus asked him why He was persecuting Him.  Then Saul loses his sight and is told to go into the city and wait to be told what to do.  Then the Lord asked one of his disciples to go to Saul.  There is a conversation between this disciple and the Lord in Acts 9:10-16: “Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment, he 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.”  But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;  and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

There are several themes that I see coming across in these verses.  First, I always find it interesting when the disciples of God, those who get to have a conversation with Him, argue with Him or question Him.  I always think I would respond differently, and yet, I do get to have conversations with God, and I do still question Him. We are all human, and questioning and doubting are natural human behaviors.  In these verses, Ananias is given a task to do.  God wants him to go and restore Saul’s sight.  I wonder if Ananias ever healed anyone before?  Would this be his first time?  Also, Ananias has heard rumors about this person, whom he is supposed to go and heal.  Saul’s reputation preceded him.  He was not a nice person.  He was in that town to collect any believers of Jesus and bring them to jail, essentially.  He approved the stoning to death of Stephen, one of Jesus’ followers. I can totally understand why Ananias would question this plan. Why he might even be scared.  If he goes to heal this man in Jesus’ name, then Saul will know he is a Christian.  What if there are ramifications of that?

There are many reasons why we might question the Lord’s plan.  I think worrying about our own safety and the possible risk to our lives is a pretty big one.  It’s interesting how I can silently judge Ananias for questioning God when he is dealing with someone who has stoned fellow believers, and yet I question God when I am completely safe, and just being asked to step outside of my comfort zone.  My life is not in danger, and yet I still question God’s plan.  I still hesitate to do what I know He is asking me to do.  So, why do I always think it is crazy when others question God’s plan?  I am the first to say God has a plan.  I am the first to encourage someone to step out in faith and do the scary thing God is asking you to do.  I am also the first one to hesitate when God asks me to do some things.  I am the first one to question and to wonder if I am really the best person to do that.  I question if He really knows what He is doing, asking me to do that.  

In this verse, Ananias is actually not questioning his own ability; he is questioning Saul’s worthiness of being healed.  This is another thing that we can be quick to judge.  We can all question God’s decisions on who He heals, saves, and works through.  Maybe you know someone really great who died from cancer, or was killed in a car accident when they were a teenager, and you also know some pretty terrible people who beat cancer and seem to have everything going for them.  In our eyes, these things can seem very unfair, and we don’t understand them. They make no sense to us.  I don’t understand them either, so I will not be giving you any answers to those questions today.  However, I do know that God has a plan, and He can use anyone for that plan.  I do know when it comes to the question of worthiness, none of us is worthy on our own merit.  We can’t judge others because we don’t know their heart; only God can judge, as He knows what is in our hearts.  You can have someone who seems as lovely as can be in public and yet is awful in their private life.  You can have someone who is not very nice to people, and yet that is because they were wounded and they don’t know any other way.

I saw the movie and read the book called The Shack. If you have not read the book or seen the movie, you should check it out; it is so good.  Of course, the book is better, but the movie does a pretty good job explaining why we shouldn’t judge others.  It discusses how we often don’t see the whole picture.  We can judge the man who is abusing his wife and child, but would we judge that child?  What about when that child grows up to abuse his wife and child?  We only see a tiny part of who a person really is.  

God can use anyone, and He often chooses the most unlikely candidate.  He tends to use imperfect people —those who have messed up, seem broken, struggled, or sinned.  God uses people who can easily be judged for their faults.  These people, people who aren’t perfect (no one is perfect, by the way), people who have really struggled, are actually the ideal people to use because they can speak to those who are also struggling.  They are someone you can look at and say, If they could do it, so can I.  If someone who grew up with nothing can make something of themselves, then I can too.  If someone who has been abused was able to get away from that abuse, then so can I.  If someone who was an alcoholic can give up alcohol, so can I.  If God can use someone who is a sinner to do amazing things, He can use me too.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this episode today.  Lord, let them hear precisely what they need to hear today.  Lord, help us not to judge others.  Give us your heart and your eyes for others, Lord.  Please help us to be compassionate and recognize that there is always more to a person than what we can see.  Lord, give us the boldness to do whatever you ask us to do, even when we are scared, even when we don’t understand it, even if you are asking us to heal a really scary person.  Please give us the strength and the grace we need to follow your commands, no matter how hard we think they are.  We can do all things through you who strengthen us!  We love you so much, Lord.  We are grateful you have a plan and you don’t let our questioning it get in the way.  We are thankful that you use all things for our good and you don’t let us mess up your plan.  We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I invite you all into my mentoring group. CLICK HERE for the details about mentoring. It is on Tuesday nights at 8 PM on Zoom. You can just come to listen; you don't have to have your mic or your camera on if you don’t want to. You can come in your PJs if you like. No judgment here. You don’t have to drive anywhere. It’s perfect. The theme for this month is Why Forgiveness is Essential. I will go over what forgiveness is and is not, along with why it is so important that we do it. And I assure you, it is more important than we know. Why is it we spend so much time and money on so many areas of our lives, and yet we don’t invest in our spiritual life the same way?

I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in May 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am the Lord your God. I am the one who loves you most of all. Come, my children. Come and know the joy and love of being my children.”

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