Use What You Have
by Malcolm Wood
A lady at our recent church meeting commented that she was uncertain as to what her gifting was. This caused me to think that we can be busy serving the Lord doing what he has asked to do, and not always recognise that we are using an ability that God has given us for that specific purpose, (which was the case with this particular lady).
Sadly, there seems to be a tendency to think that unless we are holding a position in the church or seen to be operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit such as teaching, prophecy, and healing (as detailed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12), we have nothing to offer. Further reading in that chapter will reveal the fact that, as part of the body of Christ, each one of us has a part to play and are gifted with a God-given ability to fulfil that role to His glory. God is looking for us to offer ourselves for Him to use in His Kingdom purposes, however insignificant, inferior or inadequate we feel we may be.
The Bible is full of accounts of individuals who, by the world’s standards, were the most unlikely people to fulfil the roles that God had for them. For example, Moses was a murderer who had run away and was minding sheep in the wilderness, Gideon was hiding from the enemy, and David was just a shepherd boy. The men Jesus chose as His first followers were seen as uneducated, ordinary men, yet later they became preachers, teachers, evangelists, missionaries and founding members of His church.
It is amazing how God can use the ordinary things which are given over to Him to achieve His extraordinary purposes. An ordinary shepherd’s rod belonging to Moses became a snake (Exodus 4:2-3). When Moses held it out over the Red Sea, the waters parted (Exodus 14:16). When he used it to strike a rock, water flowed (Exodus 17:6). David used a sling and a small stone to kill Goliath (1 Samuel 17:50). Samson used a jawbone of a donkey to kill a thousand men (Judges 15:16). In the New Testament a boy’s picnic of fives loaves and two fish was used to feed five thousand people (Mark 6:30-39), and, elsewhere, water was turned into wine (John 2:1-12). What a great God we have!
It is often said that the ability God is looking for in us is ‘avail’-ability’. Are we willing to offer ourselves and the abilities He has given us, however insignificant we think those are, to Him to use how, where and whenever He chooses? I am sure He will surprise us as He uses us in ways which we never thought possible.
The words of Graham Kendrick’s song ‘The Servant King’ are familiar to many of us. In it we are encouraged to ‘bring our lives as a daily offering of worship to the Servant King.’ Now could be a good time to do just that.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please forgive me for sometimes underestimating what You can do with those things which are given over to You. You can use the ordinary to fulfil Your extraordinary purposes. Help me to daily surrender myself and all that I am to You so that You can use me in that way. Amen.
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
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