Thursday, December 4, 2014
In our Spanish bible class last night, I presented this question, “Can the weak and timid serve Christ?” I recently heard one of our church members testify that he wanted to be bolder and more forceful in sharing the gospel with others, especially his children. That burden was weighing heavily in his heart and he asked us to pray for him as well. Have you ever felt that way? When you see how God uses certain people to draw others to Christ and lead them to the knowledge of His salvation, do you lament the fact that you are not like that? Do you wish you could have that kind of personality? Well, if that is you, let me remind you that Jesus’ Disciples each had their own distinct personality and they all served the Lord nonetheless. Let me remind you also that Moses, the great man of God, once felt inept and incapable of fulfilling the task God gave him, namely to go back to Egypt to lead His people out from their bondage. He wanted to be excused from this mission because he was a stutterer. Exodus 4:10 NLT says: “But Moses pleaded with the LORD, "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me. I'm clumsy with words.”
Stuttering, as well as other deficiencies, can be a disadvantage, but God will always help us to make adjustments so that we can be successful. Such was the case in a joke I heard once about a stuttering paratrooper. Upon making their first jump, the leader had instructed the team to jump, count to ten, and the pull the ripcord. When the stammering paratrooper took an agonizingly long time to ask to what number he had to count before pulling his ripcord, the leader immediately answered “In your case, one!” Because he was a man of stammering lips, Moses felt insecure in other areas as well. When the staff of God he had in his hands turned into a snake, he jumped away in terror. (Exodus 4:3) The Bible also informs us in Numbers 12:3: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” He too may have felt that he did not have the type of personality needed in order to serve God effectively. Boy, was he wrong! I confess that, at the start of my ministry, I too felt incapable of serving God. I have always believed that if I were a salesman of any kind, I would have starved to death a long time ago.
Weak, timid, bold, or persuasive, God can use anyone and here is the key: It is love! When Christ put Peter in charge of His disciples upon His ascension to Heaven, Peter had to learn the secret. If he truly loved the Lord more than anyone or anything else, He would have much success in serving Him. Those who truly love Christ will love others and prove it with their actions. They will weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. Like Jesus, they will want to do things for others, even give them things. In the end, those who live their lives like this, will serve God effectively, regardless of their personality. It is a great thing to be bold and to have spiritual gifts, but more people are won to Christ by way of spiritual fruits than by gifts. When summoned to serve, Gideon felt incapable as well, but in Judges 6:12 God’s angel called him “a mighty man of valor.” You also may feel too small or insignificant to serve Him, but in our case, the Lord says that we are “more than conquerors” through Him that loved us. (Christ) Let’s believe God instead.
Memory Verse for the week: (Psalm 18:28) “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
