Let's talk about 3 reasons why God wants you to live your life as a fearless Christian. If you have lived anywhere near as long as I, you understand that life will throw curveballs one neither saw coming nor was prepared to catch.

More plainy, these are moments when the last thing you want to do is the very thing God is calling you to. For me, it was/is preaching the gospel but perhaps it is different for you.

Imagine being asked to walk straight into a situation you’ve spent your life avoiding, to meet a person you’ve only heard terrible things about, or to confront a past that still stings.

What level of spiritual fear would you deal with?

That’s exactly where we find two unlikely characters in Acts 9: Saul, later to become apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, the infamous persecutor of the early church, and Ananias, a faithful disciple hesitant to trust him. Their stories collide on the Damascus Road—not by chance, but by divine design.

Jesus, as with you and I, is the Master at turning His enemies into advocates!

And through their encounter, God reveals a powerful truth: He often sends us to the very people and places we’d rather avoid, not because it’s easy, but because He’s working something bigger than we can see.

Imagine this beloved of God, someone is a known bully, violent, and hates you and your friends and so much so, he is searching for you and once found, you could potentially die in the encounter.

What would your feelings be?

Let’s set the scene. Saul, later known as Paul, was a man on a mission. Before his dramatic conversion, he was headed down the Damascus Road with arrest warrants in hand, ready to haul believers like Ananias back to Jerusalem in chains.

He was the church’s worst nightmare—a zealous Pharisee who saw Christians as a threat to be eradicated. Meanwhile, Ananias was living quietly, likely aware of Saul’s reputation. Then, in a blinding flash, everything changes. Jesus knocks Saul off his high horse—literally—and leaves him humbled, blind, and questioning.

At the same time, God speaks to Ananias in a vision, saying, “Go to Saul of Tarsus.” You can almost hear Ananias’s internal protest: Saul? The guy who’s been hunting us down?

Are you sure, Lord?

I was there, in 1997, when the Holy Spirit came to me, while I was lost, using drugs, and an alcoholic with, "you will preach my Word." I wasn't in church and, in my own way, on the Road to Damascus.

However, here’s where Paul and Ananias's stories intersect: both Saul and Ananias were sent to a place—and a person—they were skeptical of.

Saul didn’t expect to meet Jesus on that road, and Ananias certainly didn’t expect to be sent to heal the man who’d been terrorizing his friends.

Yet Jesus connected them anyway.

Why?

Because God’s plans don’t hinge on our comfort zones. He sends us to the people we’ve heard “bad things” about, the ones we’ve been avoiding, or the ones tied to a painful past we’d rather forget.

Big Idea #1: God Sends You Where You’d Rather Not Go

Think about that for a moment. God wants to send you to the very person you’ve built walls against. Maybe it’s a coworker who stabbed you in the back, a family member who hurt you deeply, or a neighbor you’ve written off because of rumors. Ananias must have felt the same dread when God told him to meet Saul.

This wasn’t just a casual visit—it was a leap of faith into the lion’s den. And yet, he went. Scripture doesn’t sugarcoat Saul’s past either. Later, as Paul, he’d admit in his own words how much harm he’d done to the early church (Acts 22:4, Galatians 1:13).

Ananias had every reason to hesitate, but God had a bigger purpose.

What about you? Who’s your “Saul”? Who’s the person God keeps nudging you toward, even though everything in you screams, Not them, Lord!? The truth is, God often calls us to step out, not knowing what’ll happen when we get there.

Ananias didn’t know if Saul would lash out or repent. Jacob, in Genesis 32, didn’t know if his brother Esau would embrace him or attack him after years of estrangement. Esther didn’t know if approaching the king uninvited would lead to death or deliverance (Esther 4:16). But they went anyway.

Why?

Because God knows the ending, even when we don’t.

Big Idea #2: Trusting God Beyond the What Ifs

Here’s where it gets real. Stepping out in faith is tough when you’ve been burned before. Maybe you’ve thought, Lord, I’ve put myself out there, and it blew up in my face.

Now you’re asking me to do it again? 

Or perhaps, I trusted them last time, and they made a fool of me. I’m not going back. We’ve all got those scars—moments when people let us down, betrayed us, or treated us like dirt. It’s natural to assume we know how it’ll end: They’ll just do it again. 

But do we really know?

Romans 11:34 asks, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” Not us. God’s working on both ends, and He’s got a vantage point we can’t even fathom.

Take Saul and Ananias. Before God ever spoke to Ananias, He’d already humbled Saul on the Damascus Road. By the time Ananias arrived, Saul wasn’t the same man. Jesus reassured Ananias, saying, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine” (Acts 9:15).

Ananias overcame his doubts and obeyed, not because it made sense, but because God was already at work. Here’s the kicker: God isn’t just working on you—He’s working on your “enemy” too.

While Saul was asking, “Lord, what would You have me do?” Ananias was saying, “Here I am.” Two hearts, once opposed, were being moved toward reconciliation at the same time.

Point #1: God’s Working on Both Sides

Do you ever stop to think that God loves your enemies as much as He loves you? It’s a hard pill to swallow, but it’s true. He’s performing “heart operations” on both of you, often simultaneously.

The person you’re dreading might be crying out to God right now, just like Saul did. And here you are, hesitating like Ananias, unaware that God’s already softened the ground.

Point #2: Don’t Block God’s Work

Here’s a sobering thought: holding onto enmity too long can put you at odds with God. Ananias could’ve refused, clinging to what he knew about Saul’s past. But all it took was a word from Jesus, and he obeyed.

What if your former enemy has sought God’s grace, like Saul did? What if they were blind but now see? If God’s moving them toward change, who are we to stand in the way? James 3:5 warns that the tongue is a tiny flame that can set a forest ablaze.

Our words and actions can tear down what God’s building—whether it’s a relationship, a church, or a soul He’s redeeming.

Point #3: Enemies Turned Allies

Here’s the payoff: your former enemy could become your greatest ally. Saul, the church’s fiercest opponent, became Paul, its most passionate evangelist. His story didn’t end on the Damascus Road—it began there.

And Ananias?

He played a pivotal role in unleashing Paul’s ministry. I’m so glad God wasn’t done with Paul, because through him, the gospel reached us Gentiles. What if Ananias had said no?

What if he’d let fear win?

Maybe you’re “done” with someone, but God isn’t. That person who did you wrong might be the one He’s preparing to stand beside you. It sounds crazy, but that’s God’s way—turning messes into miracles.

Hold on, as old folks used to say, just a little while longer because God is not through with you yet!

I’m so glad God doesn’t give up when others do because had he given up on me, I would literally be dead and gone. What about you beloved?

When people threw me away, He kept me. When they cussed me out, someone prayed for me. When I was down and out, His hand held me steady. Aren’t you glad that when others counted you out, God counted you back in?

On the night Jesus was betrayed, He knew He’d rise three days later. When others scandalized me, He sustained me. When they cursed me, He blessed me.

So step out there. Go where He sends you, even if you don’t know the end. Because the God who connected Saul and Ananias is still connecting unlikely stories today—yours included.