By the grace of God I am what
I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… —1 Corinthians 15:10
{CHAMBERS} “The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is
an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God
falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s
perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how
unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things
such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say
that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify
me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain
and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” […] …. always be humble before God, and
allow Him to be your all in all. There is only one relationship that really
matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and
Lord.”
{ELGIN) You must be careful to not compare yourself to other
Christians and imagine that you can never be like them. It’s true, you may never do what they do, but
if you are born again .. you are exactly like them. You are exactly like Paul … exactly like Billy
Graham … but you may be a different part of the body. (1
Corinthians 12:14-25) “… the body
does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I
am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a
part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not
belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the
whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body
were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he
chose. […] The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor
again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts
of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the
body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our
unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more
presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving
greater honor to the part that lacked it.”
God has purposed us (Ephesians 2:10). You might decide to be a butcher, baker, or candlestick
maker in the natural, but you do not decide what part of the Body you will be in the supernatural. God does that. Exactly like Paul and Billy Graham. Now that is not to say that you might be
envious of someone who is the mouth. But
that is your flesh at work. Perhaps your
insecurities at work or maybe your pride.
I have known men who demanded that they have a certain leadership
position in a local church. Not because they
were called to it, but because they lusted after it. They want to be significant in the eyes of
men or perhaps to overcome some feeling of inferiority. Or maybe you feel like God can’t use you because
you have nothing to offer. You do! You
do! You offer … you. Then trust that God will use you as He sees
fit. It may be to fulfill a place that people won’t see or ever know
about. Is that OK with you? If not, examine your heart. If your desire is to glorify God .. the first
step is to submit your life to Him and to His will. A song you may be familiar with … “Yes Lord
yes to Your will and to Your way. Yes
Lord yes. I will trust you and
obey. When the Spirit speaks to me, with
my whole heart I’ll agree and I will answer .. YES Lord YES!”
God will provide the
opportunity for you to fulfill your purpose. You don’t have to make those
opportunities. Just do what God puts in
front of you. If it seems bigger than
you are .. for whatever reason .. it is most probably God. There was a man, Brother Lawrence, who was
known for his spirituality. He was a
monk. One thing he did not want to do
was work in the kitchen. He decided
that. Any guesses where God put
him? For 15 years. During that time, he made a huge impact in
many people’s lives. He served
faithfully where God put him and glorified God and blessed others in the
process. Are you ready to work in the
kitchen? To set side notoriety and the praise of men. (Mark
9:35) [Jesus said] “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and
servant of all.” Hope that puts things
in perspective for you.
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