Is God able to use your life?
If you're a follower of Jesus, chances are high that you have a desire for God to use your life to make an eternal impact. But the truth is that many aren't being used by God to do much of anything, why is that? Let's consider the story of Mary the mother of Jesus, for a moment.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. - Luke 1:28-38 9 (NIV)
This is Mary's moment! The time when God is wanting to reach down and bring Jesus to world, to introduce the Messiah into the world, and he comes to a young woman named Mary. Naturally she has some questions about the feasibility of this baby since she's not married, but ultimately she sets the example for all of us who want to make an impact and difference in our lifetime.Mary chooses to say yes and create space in her life to be used by God to bring Jesus to the world! And that truly, our availability is the key to whether or not we can be a part of the great story of the kingdom of God. Are we making ourselves available to be used by God to bring Jesus to our world?
What could God do if we created space for Him in our lives?
Sometimes this availability will call us to sacrifice a lot, and sometimes it's minor inconveniences, but if we've received the grace of Jesus, than God is tapping us on the shoulder and calling us to be available to bring that grace to others.
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” - Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)
The funny part about this verse is that we don't usually put the words "feet" and "beautiful" in the same sentence!! For real, some people got some funk-nasty feet! haha! But, you'll notice the statement of beauty isn't about the feet, but about the availability of the feet.
The beauty is in the availability.
What a bummer it is when we have the beauty but not the availability. We're called to make ourselves available to bring good news to others. We can't settle for just having good news, but we need to make our lives available to be used by God to bring that good news to hurting world around us.Imagine if you had a child that was thirsty for a drink of water, and when you went to the cupboard to grab a glass, none of the classes would let you use them. Each one having their own excuse as to why they're unavailable. You'd be getting frustrated, knowing that your child is thirsty and all you need is an available cup to transport the refreshing water to your child. Imagine a cup saying it's too busy, or maybe it feels too dirty, or maybe feels like it's got a crack and has disqualified itself from being useable.It's crazy to think of the cups in your cupboard talking back at you, but that's really how we often are with God. He has so many children that need to hear the good news, children that need the refreshing water of the grace of Jesus, but many of us are unavailable or unaware of the need.There are many practical ways we can be available to be used by God, like being an example of the love of Christ, forgive when people don't deserve, pray for co-workers who are sick, offer biblical council to the struggle a friend is walking through, inviting people to join you at church or small group, telling your story/testimony about how Jesus has impacted your life, and many more. But, my primary goal for this post is to stir our hearts to be like Mary and commit that when Jesus needs to use your life you'll simply respond,“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
