Ananias of Damascus and the Butterfly Effect

I have been pondering how God uses our micro-actions to weave a movement. A small nudge in one direction creates a cascading domino effect. You choose to go to a different grocery store and run into a long-lost friend. You feel prompted to text a co-worker, and it turns into a 2-hour phone call. You feel like the Lord is telling you to speak to a stranger who looks really mean and angry, and it turns out it’s just what they needed.

At my Connect Group this week, one of the women mentioned how she was reading about Saul’s conversion to Paul, which is a big turning point in the New Testament. But instead of focusing on Paul during the Road to Damascus encounter with Jesus, she highlighted the story of Ananias:

Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias.

The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord!” he replied.

The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.

I am struck by the fact that the task at hand for Ananias was to go and find Saul, a man who was now infamous for hunting down and persecuting Christians. We don’t talk about the bravery it took for Ananias to do this. Surely he thought of his own safety and that of his family.

If it were me, I would have been swimming in worry. Will there be retaliation from the Pharisees? Will Saul refuse to have me lay hands and pray? Will he get violent? What if I can’t find him?

Do I really have to go, Lord?

Lord, you do know who this guy is, right? He is very dangerous to us. He hates you!

Ananias did indeed raise questions and concerns, but more importantly, he obeyed. He did as the Lord asked: “So Ananias went and found Saul,” prayed for him, and helped point him towards his purpose.

It just struck me that without Ananais, we have no Paul. Paul is still groping around in darkness, trying to process what has happened to him on that road. Stuck in the in-between hinterlands of transition. He can’t go back, but he doesn’t know where forward is.

He’s still Saul, and he will remain Saul.

He needed someone to help him turn into Paul.

Consider today: who is God calling you to be an Ananias to? Where is your “Straight Street” or “house of Judas”?

The Gospel is, by its very nature, a butterfly effect. It is set in motion by our obedience to God’s commands and invitations. Our yes changes destinies and empires, though it might not seem so at the start.

Ask the Lord to show you your role in this great Kingdom-building adventure.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for calling us
to be your witnesses.
Thank you for sending us
to help others see.
We ask for your grace to
do as you command,
and to accept your invitations
to help others.

Amen.