Saddle Your Donkey and Go!

 

Genesis 22:1-3:

“Early next morning Abraham saddled his donkey and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place which God had indicated to him.”

 

Abraham went when God told him to:

He didn’t argue, He didn’t fast and pray, He didn’t offer sacrifices to change God’s mind,

He didn’t try to reason it out.

He saddled His donkey and went!

 

Acts 9: 10-17

 

Ananias was obviously praying, seeking God.

I believe He was probably at the “I want to do anything you tell me to, God” stage.

He was probably praying in the spirit, He knew how to recognize God.

When God came to him in the vision, He knew it was God.  He didn’t try the spirits to see if it was really God.  He was in tune spiritually and knew God’s voice.

 

But  He was astonished when God really gave Him a mission and what that mission was.

Saul was a murderer of Christians and it took a giant step of  faith to go and see him.  It had only been three days since the Damascus Road experience and I’m sure rumors had not even gotten around about what had happened. 

Ananias was teetering on the edge of faith vs. fear.

He reasoned with God and reminded Him of Who Saul was.

 

Let’s Look at verse 13.

The great thing here is God knew Ananias’ heart.  He knew that he was willing to do what ever God asked Him, and because God loved Him enough, He gave Him a simple explanation, that was enough to firm up His faith and Ananias in essence, Saddled his donkey and went, when God told Him to.

I don’t think Ananias was arguing with God. He expressed a little doubt and God gave Him enough information to snuff out the doubt.

 

Ananias was a man of faith and vision.  He recognized God’s voice.  His spirit man was in tune with God. He was so in tune with God that he prayed, had visions and heard the voice of God.   God showed him why He needed to go and He went and baptized Paul.

 

Abraham was the same.

 

Both these men stepped out in complete and absolute faith.

 

Abraham saddled His donkey and went.  In His heart and mind Isaac was already dead.

 

Ananias could very well have lost his life instead of baptizing Paul.  He believed what God told him, and walked in the light of Saul’s recent salvation.

 

Both these men had the opportunity to let fear creep in and overtake them.

But they chose not to.

Fear is doubt uncontrolled.  If you let doubt go unchecked, If you don’t go to God in complete faith and trust and ask to be shown things.  Then you have chosen to walk in fear and ignorance, and that is a sin.

 

Both these men trusted in God and God alone not their prayer partners, their friends, family.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Abraham had discussed things with Sarah!

Or Ananias had  discussed things with his family?

Both would have been talked out of it!

 

Both these men walked in faith and not fear.

 

Let’s look at someone else who walked in faith and not fear.

 

Luke 8:40:

 

Jairus came and fell before Jesus and besought, some translations say begged, Jesus to come and heal His daughter.

 

Jesus immediately went, out of love and compassion.

 

But immediately things started occurring that would be used by the enemy to tempt Jairus to take on fear and leave faith behind.  3 things happened.

 

 

But first:  let’s look at Luke 8:43-44:

The  woman with the issue of blood,  This woman also had a need, but Jesus stopping and dealing with this situation was a hindrance to Jairus’ walk.. She interrupted His trip in faith to heal His daughter, and the enemy used it to throw fear and maybe a little anger into the situation.

Jairus could have tugged on Jesus coat, He could have turned to the disciples and insisted that they get Jesus going again, but he didn’t, HE chose to stand and wait!

 

While he was waiting what happened.

Luke 8:49:

News came that His daughter had died.

Now was the perfect opportunity for him to loose it.  He could have raged at Jesus for taking to long.  For not hearing His prayer, He could have wept and cried and begged.

 

But--- Here Jesus stepped in.  He saw that Jairus was under attack and gave Him that extra nudge.  He said “Don’t be afraid --  only believe!”

You can look at it as “Don’t be afraid --- believe only!

Believe what?

Believe in Jesus, In God and His love and compassion.  Trust in what you already know about God and believe!

Jairus was a leader of the synagogue, he knew what the word said about God and fear.

That over and over God has said “ fear not , I am with you’

Jairus didn’t cry and beg, He stood firm and when Jesus started toward his home again,

He stepped out in faith and went with Him.

 

Now notice something else,  Jesus didn’t rebuke that spirit of fear.  He didn’t cast out fear.

He told Jairus to “be not afraid.”  It is a choice we make!  We choose to let fear overwhelm us and let us loose sight of God.  Or we can stand firm, saddle our donkey and go on , in the Lord.  It is up to You.

 

The third occurrence  is when they get to Jairus’ home.

Luke 8:51:

 

I want you to get a good idea of what was going on here.  By now all the neighbors knew, all the family knew the little girl was dead.  All His family and friends were gathered at his home “to help”.  They were crying and weeping, and asking “why do bad things happen to good people?” 

 

In walks Jesus, He brings only Peter, James and John, and the  parents.  He tells everyone else to leave because they have already shouted doubt and unbelief and fear.

Now, if there ever was an opportunity for strife.. It was now.  Jesus had kicked out some of the most important “religious” people in town,  He had kicked out his best friends and worse yet, His in-laws.  Jairus could have stood there saying to himself “uh oh, He’s done it now.  But He didn’t.  He stayed quiet before the Lord and waited!

 

After the house is cleaned of all unbelief and fear., Jesus filled it with faith.  He had James, John, Peter and the parents with Him.  I do not think He would have let the parents in, if their faith had not been there.

 

We need practice what all these men and women did. Jairus poor wife was left at home with all that unbelief and still, she went into the room with Jesus, so her faith was as strong as her husband’s.

 

Every one of these people trusted God - “saddled their donkey’s and went.”

 

The interesting thing about this, is throughout the whole thing, Jairus was walking in faith but let’s look at the last verse.  It says “The parents were amazed”!

 

Now isn’t that just like us.  We pray, we believe, we get reassurance from God and then when the answer comes --- We’re amazed!

 

We need to stop walking in fear and doubt.

 

We need to saddle our donkey’s and go!

 

Let me close with:  1 John 4:16.

 

God is love, His love is perfect and perfect loves casts out fear. 

We are to walk in the knowledge of God’s perfect love not fear.