If you are like me, sometimes it’s easy to feel as if God shouldn’t use us. We are too messed up, too selfish, too unknowledgeable. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve taken a step back and thanked God for choosing to use me even though I didn’t feel like I deserved to be used by him. I’ve felt all of these, and yet God continues to speak to me saying “I’m using you because I want to use you. I want you to be a part of this great work I’m doing.” So, if you feel disqualified from being used by God, I hope this post can encourage you that God desires to use you!
What Does God Desire?
God is not a one man team, though he certainly can be. God is like a coach who could obviously destroy the competition with his mighty skills. But, instead of just playing himself, he instead focuses more on training up his team and giving them the skills and insight that he has so that we will grow as individuals. God can do it all on his own, but he’d rather work through us. Just like a parent watching their kid ride their bike for the first time or compete in a sport, God is overjoyed to see us take part in the great commission.
“’but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’
declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:24)
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17).
God desires to use everyone. This means both the qualified and unqualified, the strong and the weak, the educated and uneducated: “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Cor. 1:27b-28a).
A Case Study of Who God Has Used
Still don’t believe me that he wants to use you? Let’s look at who God used in the past. The bible says God calls David a man after his own heart, and yet David, committed both adultery and murder. God used Samson even after he betrayed his own God-given calling for the same of lusting after an evil woman. God used Paul even though he was literally seeking to destroy and kill the early church. Jesus chose to use Peter even though he was still a wild mess after three years of spending every day with Jesus. No matter what you’ve gone through in the past, God is still desires to use you.
Now, it’s important that just because God wants to use you, doesn’t mean he will. It’s ultimately our choice. We can turn back to God and repent and let him use us again as we follow him faithfully and obediently. But, if we don’t repent or obey, God won’t work through us. This was the case with Pharaoh during the time of Moses. If we don’t turn back to God, but continue to be better by our own strength, we’ll end up no better than Judas Iscariot who hung himself out of regret for turning Jesus over to the high-priests. He might’ve regretted what he did, but he didn’t turn back to God.
Sin Hinders us From Being Used by God
No matter what you’ve done in the past, God’s used worse people. If you have a history of drug abuse, promiscuity, greed, anger, rebellion, criminal activity, God can still use you. And, the beautiful thing is that he came as Jesus and died (and rose again) so that the punishment you deserved is put on himself if you trust in God’s way, repent, and turn to him. He bore your pain so that you can be free to join him in his great mission of reaching this lost and hopeless world with his love, joy, and presence.
God isn’t the one who’s trying to make you feel bad. God convicts us of our sins. But Satan fills us with guilt I imagine conviction as like a metal detector. God says “Come to me. I want you. I love you. But, if you want to come, you need to leave this sin behind. But, don’t worry, I’ll help you leave it behind. And, the reason why I want you to leave it behind is because it’s good for you and without this sin you and I can be much closer in relationship.” Just like a metal detector warns us of metal and makes people leave their weapons behind.
Satan and this world will fill us of guilt. Guilt is like a rejected application to a prestigious organization. Essentially what they are saying when they deny you is “We don’t want you to be a part of what we are doing because you aren’t good enough. We don’t want to associate with you because you will make us look bad.” Only Satan would try to convince us that this is what God tells us after we sin.
If we do turn back to God, repent, and follow him, he can do amazing things through us. But, we must let him. We must allow him to work through us. This is the continual battle, but it is open to everyone. I promise you, there is no better adventure in life than one directed by God.
God Desires to Use You!
There’s a lot of work within me still to be done, but I’m growing and God is moving. God desires to use me because he loves me despite all of my short comings, and I follow God because I love him despite all the ways I know I grieve him.
I’m amazed God is using me and desires to use each of us. I don’t deserve this, nor do I feel ready. In the end, all we can do is echo the words of Jeremiah, and believe that God is speaking to us just as he spoke to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:4-9:
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.”
I pray that this post encourages you and inspires you to say yes to God. Let’s follow God together my friends. Let’s live Wilder.
If you liked this post, I’d encourage you to check out my other post: Take off Your Leash and Live Wild
You can also check out my last blog post by clicking here: Should we Do what God wants or Follow Him?
