How Will God Use You?

Have you ever wondered what God thinks of you? I mean, now that you have become one of His children through faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps we get an idea from God’s interaction with Gideon in the Old Testament. If you remember, at the time of Gideon, Israel was antagonized by marauding bands from the nearby nation of Midian. These groups would sweep in every summer and steal the bounty of the harvests from the Israelites.

To preserve some of the grain, Gideon was threshing it in a winepress, trying to remain hidden from the Midianites. God dispatched an angel, who interrupted him with the following greeting. “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:12, 14).

Shocked by the sudden appearance of an angel, and surprised the Lord would pick him out, Gideon replied, “But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:15). 

Isn’t that the way with most of us? God has a mission for us and immediately we tell Him why He has made a bad choice. We don’t have what it takes. Moses came up with all sorts of excuses as to why God should send someone more competent to confront Pharaoh with the demand that he let the Israelites leave Egypt.

I don’t think the word “excuse” is even in the vocabulary of our partners in Rwanda and India. They saw a need, heard God’s voice to step up, and began to meet the need. Since the inception of their ministries, orphans have been saved, people have learned marketable skills, and churches have prospered. 

God values our AVAILABILITY much, much more than our ABILITY. That’s not to say that our partners don’t have skills and education, they do! They have also made themselves available to the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the One who equips them. 

Not everyone starts a ministry. God may ask you to do so. Or, He may be directing you to help finance our partners. Did you know that’s what some women did with Jesus’ ministry? They used their resources to provide for the Lord and His men. “In Galilee these women had followed Him and cared for His needs.” (Mark 15:41). “These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” (Luke 8:3) 

I don’t doubt that God considers our partners and the founder of our charity to be “mighty warriors”. But your part is just as important! They need the rest of us for encouragement them and to financially help them in their ministries.

Marlon Furtado