When you feel like a ‘nobody’, remember this – God
knows your name and where you are.
Everybody has had those moments at one time or
another – you know the feeling. We question
everything about ourselves – our self-worth, our sense of belonging. We wonder if we even have some very basic
skills that might be useful someday. We
even question our own validity.
Take a look at some rather less-than-sterling
individuals whom God chose to use.
He used a man named Zacchaeus, a corrupt IRS agent
of the day. Zacchaeus’ life was so
turned around that he pledged to give back four times the amount he had stolen
from his clients, and he also was willing to give one-half of all his possessions
to feed the poor.
~Luke 19:
1-10
He used Rahab, a prostitute, to hide his chosen
men for a season until His work could be established.
~Joshua 2
He used Saul, later named Paul, to become one of
the major founders of the Christian faith.
Saul was a persecutor of Christians until one day he had an encounter
with the Christ. He changed his ways
instantly and turned from a persecutor to a proclaimer of the Gospel and the way of salvation.
~Acts 9
And don’t forget David. David was a handsome young man who caught God’s
eye even from early youth. He had a
rather circuitous route to becoming the man who played a dominant role in
Israel’s history books.
He slew a giant.
He became King.
He had an affair with Bathsheba.
He had her husband killed.
He repented.
He ruled and became a legend.
~I Samuel Chapters 16 & 17
In his early days, Billy Graham wasn’t BILLY
GRAHAM. He started small. He had small crowds and smaller offerings to
support his ministry in the early days.
And he was faithful to the call of God.
Have you ever wondered who influenced Billy
Graham? I don’t know, and you probably
don’t either, but someone did. Some
person somewhere was an instrumental figure in his life to help Billy make the
connection between his gifts and God’s call.
God used that nameless person.
Who does God use?
He uses the likes of you and me.
He uses simple, mundane elements like loaves and two fish that a young
boy offered on a hillside in Galilee one day.
And with that meager amount of food Christ fed 5,000 men, not counting
the women and children.
He used a whale once to provide refuge for a
runaway prophet named Jonah.
He has used songwriters, living and dead, to
change lives, and help redeem those on a less-than-righteous path.
He uses writers of books, movie scripts, and blogs
and magazine articles to accomplish His work.
He even uses the non-spiritual to do His
bidding. He used the movie Patch Adams in my life to help me discover
my calling and put it into better focus.
If God can use these individuals, and a great host
like them, and these elements like bread, fish, books, movies and such, don’t
you think He can use you and me?
I wrote the following blog post in 2012 and it is
still appropriate for today’s thoughts.
~~~~~
I’m not
much, but I am somebody.
I like to
write books and blogs. I’m not Thoreau
or Twain, Robert Frost or Edgar Allen Poe, but I am somebody.
I’ve sung
a solo or two in my lifetime. I’m not a
Pavarotti or Andre Bocelli. No, not at
all. You see, I’ve sung a few flat notes
in my lifetime. But I am somebody.
I’ve done
a good bit of public speaking in my life.
I’m no Billy Graham, and sometimes I’ve flubbed my speeches, but I am
somebody.
I’ve
directed a few choirs and orchestras in my years of living. I’m not in the league of Leonard
Bernstein. I’ve dropped a few batons as
a conductor. But I am somebody.
I am a
drummer. I’m not famous like Gene Krupa
or Buddy Rich. At least twice in my
drumming life, I’ve dropped my drum sticks at crucial moments in a
performance. But I am somebody.
On most
days, when you look at me, you wouldn’t see much. I’m not the most handsome guy in the room; and
I’m not the slimmest.
You see,
God emblazons each of us with the gift of his signature on our lives. He puts within us a stamp of his image. It is as much a part of who we are as is our
DNA.
If you
are like me, you’re no work of art either.
You struggle with life just like all normal people. But you and I are somebody just because
we have the signature of God on our lives.
We have his stamp. The Bible says
we are made in the image of God.
You and
I, and the homeless man pushing a loaded-down shopping cart over there – we are
all made in the image of God.
So,
though we may not be prized by many people in this world, we are prized by God.
He has
stamped our lives with his unique signature.
“Not much of a prize” you say.
“Nothing to see here” we muse?
Maybe …
But when I see you I see the hand of God at work. I see potential. I see a future with hope.
I see somebody worthy of the love of God.
Please take 4:33 and watch this great video
clip. It is a perfect cap to everything
I’ve shared above.
P Michael
Biggs
Offering
Hope
Encouragement
Inspiration
One Word at
a Time
