Does God Really Want to Use Me?
“The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29
From start to finish, the Bible is clear: God wants to use people for His plan. It took me a long time to understand why He would do this, but as I’ve grown in the knowledge of His grace, I now know that His deep desire to work hand-in-hand with us is based on His passion to form relationships. God is a God of relationships–loving, eternal relationships. This is the ultimate reason why we were created: relationship.
Truth be told, our Creator was already enjoying at least one relationship before He even formed the foundation of this planet–a relationship with Himself. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always have been in a relationship, and always will be in a relationship. They have no beginning or end.
They are not bound by time, space, or matter, but instead, God (all three together) created the very notion of time, space, and matter for us. They did this so that we could have a physical beginning and end, and then we can decide whether or not we would like to go on to live with them forever in heaven. We decide if we go to heaven, God doesn’t. Nobody gets sent to hell. Instead, hell is simply a place reserved for those who reject Jesus’ free forgiveness.
But let’s back up just a step. How do we know that God always has been in a relationship? For proof of the Trinity’s pre-earth connection, we need only to look to the very first chapter of the first book in the Bible. In Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.” That’s plural!
So if God created you in His image, that in itself should make you feel spectacular! YOU LOOK LIKE GOD! Oh, but it doesn’t end there! The Bible also says that as a Christian you have gifts of the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12). YOU ARE GIFTED! Some how, some way, YES, you most certainly are!
To be clear, as a believer in Jesus, love is your greatest gift! Love is not only meant to be received from God, but it’s also meant to be given away as your gift! (See 1 Corinthians 13). However, you do have other gifts in the drop-down menu from your unconditional love. This unconditional love is a supernatural love that Jesus has permanently placed in you. Your gifts and talents sprout up from this love, which God can use to help others know Him better–as well as themselves better (see Ephesians 2:10, 6:24, Romans 5:5, 12:2).
The problem is, the devil wants you to think there’s nothing gifted about you. But remember, he’s a rotten, ugly, stupid liar, so don’t believe it! You must learn to stand up to him when he places such erroneous thoughts in your mind! TALK BACK! Tell him, “I AM GIFTED! I AM TALENTED! GOD WANTS TO USE ME FOR A WONDERFUL PURPOSE AND I KNOW HE WILL!” Jesus talked back to that fibbing twit, so we should too.
Friend, there is something special about you. I don’t care what you’ve been told, there’s something that God wants to use through you to increase the population of heaven and to help people enjoy their lives while still here on planet earth! If you’re not sure what your gifts are, here are some tips to help bring them out of you. They are there, we just gotta get them to come out!
- Focus on what you enjoy. If you get great pleasure and satisfaction from performing a particular activity, ask God to help you use that activity to bring attention to Jesus! And then brace yourself, because He will!
- Don’t try to be like someone else. Why? Because you’re not! And you can’t be! Plus, you’re not supposed to be! Worst of all, you’ll live a frustrated life if you try to be! Even if you have a particular role model, God does not want you to be exactly like them. Please, embrace who you are, and be proud of it! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT! God is not interested in copies of His creations, but instead, the originals!
- Exercise your gift! Use it! When it comes to your gifts, the old adage, “Use it or lose it,” is a lie. You’re never going to lose it. Instead, it will be buried inside of you, even at your grave. Your gifts will never go away because God has personally placed the seeds of those gifts inside you! Now, it’s your job to allow Him water those seeds by listening to His Spirit each day, so that eventually those gifts can sprout up and out for all the world to enjoy!
- Don’t give up on your gift because of criticism. This is one of the devil’s greatest weapons, which is simply discouragement–RECOGNIZE THAT! Remember, your identity is not in your gift anyway, it’s in what Jesus did for you at the Cross! So allow criticism, consider it, bring it to God, and then keep your confidence in what can never be destroyed or criticized: God’s unconditional love for you in His Son, Jesus Christ!
A prayer for you: Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for allowing me to use my gift of writing each day, what an honor. Thank you for using me! I ask that you continue to use my words to help others come to know your grace on an even deeper level! I also ask that you help these dear readers to develop their own gifts in such a way that even when hard work is involved, they still enjoy it because they love you so much! Reveal that you really DO want to use them to bring even more people into an eternal relationship with you! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
This devotional is from 60 Days for Jesus, Volume 1. Get your copy here!