When God gets set to do something special among us, he usually does so through by choosing people who would be judged the most unlikely of candidates. Some would even classify them as frail, needy and broken. I have been preparing this week to share with our church the vision statement that the elders have been praying about and working on. I have come to the conclusion that God is not looking for experts but rather those who are willing to follow Him completely and totally.
I am currently reading through the Old Testament book of Exodus. In chapter 2, God interrupts Moses daily routine of caring for his flock of sheep to interrupt Moses’ career path by calling him to go before Pharaoh and demand the release of the the Hebrew nation from Egypt. Like most of us would do in that situation, Moses did not readily jump at this opportunity. He had a lot of questions for God all the way from “Whom shall I say sent me?” to “I am not a very good public speaker, who is going to do that?” Moses had some trust issues with God, he was not sure this was for him. Ever been there before? My hand is in the air!
In 2 Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul is talking about the glory of God that is seen in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says that this gospel has been hid from unbelievers by Satan (verse 4). But those who have believed radiate the light of the glory of God in Christ (verse 6). Then, in verse 7 he says something remarkable. He tells his readers who are those that God does qualify to share that light. The answer is surprising! Simple jars of clay! What? Come again? Yes, jars of clay! Jars of clay that are easily broken, jars of clay that are fragile!
Why would God choose jars of clay to show the light of the knowledge of the glory of God? Here is Apostle’s answer to that question “…to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” The communication of the good news of God through these weak, breakable vessels demonstrates the power of God! They do not demonstrate how great the vessels are but rather they show how great the potter is and not the jar!
God chooses breakable people like you and I to show that He is awesome and able to take a life that appeared to be no good and demonstrate to the world how great He is! God has called us as His people to proclaim the glory of God to the nations of the world because His love and His grace is what the broken world needs. He deliberately does so in order that He gets the glory and we get the satisfaction of living our life on His terms not on our own.
So I must ask you the question: What is God calling you to be? What is He calling you to do that you are resisting because you don’t think you have in you to do it? He who has called you is faithful to do that thing, to make that change in your life. Remember this, no one who has ever stepped out for God in faith has ever regretted it. May He be praised and magnified as we serve Him today! Go for it!
In Times Like These 