Is the Lord stirring you to serve Him? Is He whispering a purpose in your heart? Is He giving you a vision of what He wants you to accomplish for Him and for His glory? You may be thinking, ‘God can’t use me, I am not good enough. I have made too many mistakes.’ My friend, Psalm 103:12 says, ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ That means if you have accepted Christ as your Saviour, He has made you whole, made you good enough to do anything that He has purposed for you to do.
Also, Ephesians 1:4 says, ‘According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:’. God chose you and me in Him, meaning He chose us to be His, before He even made this world. He decided way back then that we would be holy and without blame before Him, it is just up to us to agree with Him and accept His invitation of salvation. So, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, you and I have been made worthy to do the work He prepared long ago for us to do.
So again, is God stirring you to do something for Him? It can be anything, but once it is something God has given you to do, it is worthwhile in His kingdom. Know also, that if God is moving you to do something, it is for a definite purpose. God does not do anything without a purpose. Scripture says that He knows the end before the beginning so the thing God is moving you to do is just a part of His great, divine plan. What a joy it is to be a part of what of God is doing in the great scheme of things that effect eternity!
Recently Paul Crouch went home to be with the Lord. After his death, there was a documentary on television about his life’s work in the establishment and building of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). They talked about how he got the vision from God and from that first word from God, he stepped out to do what God said and through him and his wife and their commitment to serve the Lord, they went from one transmitting station to a whole network being viewed globally on 70 satellites and over 18,000 TV and cable affiliates, carried on over 287 television stations in the United States and on thousands of other cable television and satellite systems around the world in over 75 countries, where their programming is translated into over eleven languages. Crouch was also involved in producing Christian films. He was executive producer for the films China Cry (1990), The Omega Code (1999), Carman: The Champion (2001), Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001), and Time Changer (2002)(Wikipedia). His heeding the stirring he felt from God in him, made it possible for the gospel of Jesus Christ to reach every corner of God’s earth, twenty-four hours a day. They took Christian television programming into areas of the world where the gospel was previously forbidden. Countries like Russia received Christian television blooming into five television stations spurring the salvation of thousands of Russians.
But that was Paul Crouch and just as God used him, He can use you as well. In book of Haggai chapter 1, the LORD had to stir some people into action. The house of the Lord in Judah was being neglected. The leaders and the people, and amazingly even the high priest had neglected the house of God and it was left to lie in waste. They were busy taking care of their own houses and things for themselves, but they had no time for the house of God. The LORD was displeased with their lack of concern and He sent a message to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, and Joshua the high priest with the prophet Haggai, commanding them to consider their ways. He told them to look at their circumstances and understand that all their zest and labour for personal gain was in vain because what they were doing was not blessed by Him, and that they would not be blessed until they returned to taking care of His house.
When the governor and the high priest and the people of Judah heard the message from the Lord, they feared the Lord and went to work in the house of the Lord. Verse 14 says, ‘And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and the spirit of the Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the remnant of the people, and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,’.
DAILY DEVOTION
God Can Use Even You!
by J. Shannell Evans
God stirred this group of people for the purpose of restoring His house. Whenever He stirs us, it is for a purpose that He is concerned about and will bring glory to Him. The point is, do not consider anything too trivial, too light or too small because that very thing may be near to God’s heart and if He is moving you to do something about it, then it very likely is. We are reminded that our thoughts are not like God’s, neither is our understanding like unto His, therefore we should never try to rationalize the way He works and the things He does.
I do want to add however, that we should also be assured that it is the Lord’s direction we are following. 1 John 4 advises us not to believe every spirit but to try them to see whether they are of God, therefore be careful not to do things just because someone says it is what the Lord says. Develop an ear for the Lord’s voice so that He can communicate with your spirit what His desires are. If you are not doing so already, establish a pattern of quiet time with the Lord in the reading of His Word, prayer and also listening for His response. No, He is not likely to speak to you in a loud, booming voice, but it may be a few words dropped into your spirit, a scripture verse that comes to mind that speaks to your situation or a situation you are familiar with. And if you are not sure about anything you get, go back to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to show you what He is saying. In John’s gospel chapter 16, verse 13 is the promise that the Spirit will lead us into all truth, so we can know when it is the Lord and when it is the voice of error.
Be assured that God has a purpose for you to fulfill, and as His children, He has works He created for us to do. It may be now or it may be later, but you have to know when He is stirring you to action…….and then obey.