In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” (Acts 9:10-14)
God has put a dream in my heart to start a private Christian nursery and elementary school and has given me curriculum ideas. The school would have scholarships for at-risk students because they need to know at an early age that Jesus loves them and will save them. This project requires money and skills that I don’t have, so I express my concerns to God and pray He will put me in touch with the right people.
Damascus became especially dangerous for Christians when Saul of Tarsus entered town. No doubt the Christian Damascenes hunkered in their dwellings to avoid being lynched. I can imagine Ananias’ eyeballs popped from their sockets when God told him to knock on the door where Saul was staying so they could meet face to face. His reaction and our reaction, if we were in his shoes, would be identical: “Wait a minute, God. You’re sending me into danger.” We would also try to tell God about the peril of the situation, as if He didn’t know.
Ananias had no way of knowing what happened to Saul on Straight Street. The enemy had taken Saul down a crooked path, so God sent him there to pray, see his error, and want to change.
God wants to know our concerns, so he didn’t rebuke Ananias for expressing his. He sent him to Straight Street to make his will clear and protect him. I pray God will send me to Straight Street also.
Heavenly Father, I praise you for the beauty and love that surrounds me this morning. I have concerns about Your will for my life. Take me to Straight Street, the place where I pray and you answer my concerns, making Your will clearer to me. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Does God send us to dangerous places to strengthen us? I have never heard of Straight Street. Straight Street is a safe place for us to go to pray and be with God?
Straight Street is the street where Saul’s friend Judas lived in Damascus. Apparently it is still a street running through the center of Damascus and a tour guide can point out exactly where Saul prayed and where Ananias laid hands on Saul. To me Straight Street is symbolic of a place to be with God where we pray, and He straightens our crooked paths. It is my opinion that God doesn’t send us into dangerous places to strengthen us. Would you send your child into a dangerous place to strengthen her? My child entered dangerous places all on her own. God may send us into a dangerous place to save someone but only if there was no one already in that dangerous place to help and then, most likely, I think he would send an angel. I know there are missionaries in dangerous places, but I believe God protects them, although once in a while we hear of missionaries being beheaded. There are so many questions I would like to ask God but every day I thank him for protecting me and my family.