God Can Use Me? or God Can Use Me!

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

The other day I was reading through the book of James when a verse grasped my attention. “Elijah was as human as we are…”  [5:17 New Living Translation, 2nd Edition].

I’m so glad the Lord prompted James to say Elijah was just another guy (my loose translation), because we sometimes think the miracle workers in the Bible were super-human or super-spiritual — bold, courageous, and fearless. 

Well, that certainly wasn’t the case with Elijah! He had moments of fear and despondency, so much so, that he wanted to throw in the towel; give up and die [see 1 Kings 19:3-4].

Perhaps you’ve felt that way too. If so, then I have good news for you. God can use a flawed, imperfect person, a person who has weaknesses. Truth is, it seems that God goes out of His way to find people like that. If God were to choose only the super-talented, the highly educated, the rich, the beautiful… well, that would eliminate most of us! So when God chose Elijah, a guy like we are, there is hope that He can use us too!

Paul said it this way, “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.  1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Rather than asking the question: God Can Use Me?, make it an exclamation: God Can Use Me! Do you believe it? Then get busy; there is so much kingdom work to be done!

Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. James 5:17-18