Skip to main content

“…perhaps you have systematically talked yourself out of anything great God may wish to do through you.”

A thought by Charles R. Swindall, from his book, What if…God Has Other Plans?: Finding Hope When Life Throws You the Unexpected (p. 4). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Has that been true of you?  Is that true of you now?

Charles says, “Maybe it’s because you feel woefully inadequate or you lack training. Perhaps you’re shy and entertain thoughts of being completely insignificant.

“You look at yourself in the mirror and ask, How could God ever choose somebody like me? I mean, it would be unlikely for God to notice me, to say nothing of using me greatly. I’m simply not qualified.”

He goes on, “Be honest, now . . . does that sound like you? Every time you look in the mirror, do you talk yourself out of something great God wants to do? But what if God has other plans? What if He wants to choose you to do something great? Are you willing? Would you respond in faith, or would you run in the other direction?

“If you think you’d shrink from such a call, then welcome to the club! You’re not alone. In fact, you’re in company with one of the greatest individuals God ever chose to use greatly. This man’s name was Moses.

Charles continues, “Originally, Moses was an unlikely prospect for the Leadership Hall of Fame. The good news is that God doesn’t search through the Hall of Fame to find candidates for greatness. God often starts with losers. Washouts. Those with broken lives and downtrodden spirits.”

He later says, “Resistance comes from our belief that we know the situation better than God does. We’re happy to have God take care of situations for us. We just don’t want to be His primary instrument. Why? Because we think we know better than He does what’s required for the job. Pay close attention: the best ten years of your life may still be ahead of you, but maybe you’ve already begun to talk yourself out of what God has planned for you.”

Charles then says, “If that’s you, I know exactly how you feel. I was the least likely candidate imaginable to do something for God. I wasn’t a great student or athlete as a boy. I wasn’t very significant on my high school campus. I certainly didn’t distinguish myself as a hero during my years in the Marine Corps. I was just another Marine. Yet out of a bush came a voice calling me to ministry. My first response was, ‘I’ve heard this before—but from my wife, not from You, Lord. She has urged me toward the ministry, but I’ve resisted.’ (I didn’t think I was qualified, and my inferiority prompted my resistance.)

Maybe that is you but what if God wants to choose you to do something great? What if?  Are you willing? 

Yes, yes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more