Full of Hands

When my daughter was small and I would want to take her hand while crossing the parking lot or street, she would clasp her two hands tightly together and say, “ I can’t Mom, I am FULL of hands!” When Ananias was approached by the Holy Spirit to go and lay his hands on Saul, it seems he had the same reaction. Acts 9:13-14 in The Message says, “Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”

There are many, many amazing things about Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. The one amazing thing I want to focus on is that God asked Ananias to assist with his hands. Ananias laid his hands on Saul and Saul became Paul and regained his sight.

Saul had already met with Jesus. Jesus had told him, “Now you have met me, but this is not complete. I will tell you later what to do.” Saul is blind, not eating or drinking, his whole world turned upside down. The Jesus Saul had determined in his own mind to be an imposter, had spoken to him from beyond the grave. Instead of sight, Saul had received blindness.

Ananias is not mentioned anywhere else in scripture. Ananias was not an apostle, although early church historians indicated that he might have been one of the 70 disciples mentioned in Luke 10. God asked Ananias to use his hands, and Ananias did. In Acts 9:17-19, The Message, “So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal.”

Ananias, a simple disciple, mentioned no where else in scripture, places his hands on Saul. His hands changed Saul’s life and many other lives, including yours and mine. Saul as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7, Amplified, “However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.”

Recap:

• We must be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. Acts 9:10
• We must hear from the Lord. Acts 9:11
• We do not need to be “important” Acts 9:10
• We must unclasp our hands. Acts 9:17
• God has important work for our hands. Acts 9:18, Matt. 9:37

APPLICATION:

Matthew 9:37 says the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. I challenge you to pray this week for work for your hands. The Holy Spirit will speak to you and instruct you in work for your hands to do. You will challenge yourself to unclasp your hands and do the work that the Holy Spirit gives you.

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