I would hope that it would be the desire of every follower of Jesus to be used for His purposes. This is not always the case for a number of reasons. One reason that I have observed over the years has been a lack of understanding of how God uses people. It seems our tendency is to make it more complicated than it needs to be.
I have been immersed in the study of the life of King David for our sermon series “Let God Use Me” based on our study of 2 Samuel. The one truth that is obvious from even a casual study of his life is that God used him! He was not only the man that broke God’s heart (which is true for every man, woman and child.) but he is also described as a man after God’s own heart. God used him in a mighty way to point the nation and the world to the Creator. The New Testament reminds us of this important truth, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep…” (Acts 13:36a)
I just want to focus our minds on one word, served. David served God. We get glimpses of him serving God as a young man taking care of his father’s sheep. When being questioned by King Saul on how he thought he was capable of taking on a giant, which no other soldier in the army stepped forward to do, he responded. “And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”” (1 Samuel 17:37a) The life of David is overflowing with examples of how he “served God.” Here is the point that I want to make. David served God with his whole being. Let me draw several observations on authentic service.
David was not perfect. If God only used perfect people, then no one could serve. How often do we hold back using our insecurity as a cover for our lack of faith in God.
David did not have to have a title of position. Service was just the overflow of his life not because he was in a position. Yes, he would be elevated and fill different positions of leadership but it was not the point when he started serving. How often do we hold back our service because we are not recognized?
David served with his whole being. I need to explain this. Many will often have a narrow of view of serving, limiting it to a spiritual gift. Yet the Bible teaches that God’s gifting in our lives also includes: the things that we are passionate about, our abilities, our personalities and our life experiences. Have you hidden behind the excuse that you have nothing to offer? Really!
David focused on his strengths. It can be easy to fall into the trap that I need to work on my weaknesses. There is truth in that statement. There are tasks that we have to do and are not that good at it. I am talking about elevating the use of our strengths. David was instrumental in establishing a culture of worship through music in Israel that I believe carried over to the church. Music is an ability that requires experience.
Here is the bottom line. You will never be someone else. You can only be you and Jesus wants to use “YOU!” So the answer to our question, “Will Jesus Use Me?” is YES.
-Pastor Joe Parkinson