Hearing God Can Be Strange
“But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints’…” But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and king and the children of Israel.” Acts 9:13-15
Imagine the amazement Ananias felt about this commission to find and pray for Saul of Tarsus, terrorist, persecutor of the church! Ananias is exactly the sort of man Saul came to Damascus to destroy! Ananias feels he needs to “fill God in “on things he must have missed about Saul of Tarsus! Later, of course, after obeying this bizarre word, Ananias is given faith to call the same man “brother Saul” and lay hands on him to receive the Holy Spirit.
There are times when what God says makes no sense – it seems exactly what should not happen. On my way to earning a Ph.D. in English Literature at Duke University, the Lord told me not to prepare for the examination in the German language, which necessarily meant no Ph.D., only an M.A. I was anguished but I did obey. No doctorate for me….But a semester later the Graduate Dean said he would just accept an exam in French (he waived the rules!) which I was prepared to take. Two things happened as a result. I knew again that my Father always has my best interests at heart, and I found that surrendering a dream for a while made His will all the more precious to me.
God’s word is often counter-intuitive “pray for your enemies,” “do good to those who hate you” “don’t be anxious about your life,” – sometimes it seems completely weird, whenever I read scripture referring to Paul as “a chosen instrument of mine,” I remember a moment when Mikhail Gorbechev had become premier of the Soviet Union in 1985. I knew that the Scripture said we are to pray for those in authority. (1 Timothy 2:2) (By the way when Paul urged pray for authorities, Nero was the chief authority!) So I determined to pray for the new Soviet premier. I asked the Lord, “What about this guy?” I heard this verbatim: “This man is my instrument for the dismantling of the world communist system.” I was stunned – the most important communist has this role? Now I wish I had immediately gone to a notary to get a document dated that I had actually heard this strange pronouncement in 1985. But nevertheless, I did! I saw again who is the Lord of history, and it’s no man or woman! Because I asked, I was given a memorable and strange reply.
One of the chief influences on the spiritual growth of my family was a truly remarkable woman named May Godfrey, whose alcoholic husband has abandoned her and their children, one small daughter and a polio-crippled younger son. She made a meager living teaching piano lessons. She loved Jesus and had learned to listen to her shepherd’s voice. One day in prayer she heard God tell her to sell her possessions and mover her family to “Lordsburg”. She had no idea where “Lordsburg” was! She found an atlas which revealed the only such place on earth was in southwest New Mexico. She left her home in south Boston Virginia and bought train tickets to New Mexico with what little remained of her money. Wondering all the while, she finally got to the little railroad town with her two kids and baggage, knowing no one there. She prayed, “Lord, what’s next?” Just then, my father, the Methodist pastor, happened to be on the platform to pick up a small package. God said, “Speak to that man.” The upshot was that my dad found her a rent house, paid her first month’s rent, and advertised the fact that a piano teacher now lived in Lordsburg. To say that this woman of faith “influenced” my entire family is a massive understatement. She introduced us all to the Holy Spirit in his tangible power and presence, and effected the entire course of our lives and all others who came in contact with this quiet prayer warrior and prophet. (My mother recalled hearing May talk about the atomic bomb before it ever appeared in the newspapers, when it was a state secret!)
God’s ways are not as our ways, his thoughts are not as our thoughts. His grasp of large and small are absolute, completely comprehensive. We can trust him to withhold what we are not prepared to receive. Our job is to humble ourselves and obey.
Today’s Prayer: Father, thank you for being Lord of the Universe, on whose scales of judgement the nations are as dust, yet one who has the hairs of our head numbered Thank you that whatever you touch becomes great. Your voice transforms its hearers- we praise you for speaking to us.
Today’s Challenge: Obey the counter intuitive word. God is not obliged to explain himself to our, but we are obliged to obey in order to understand, his “why” his ways, will we trust him in the strange word like Ananias?