"God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him." -Hudson Taylor, British missionary to China in the 1800s.
I love this quote. It puts things into perspective for me. A lot. It puts such a huge emphasis on God that it leaves no excuse to the man. It is in our weakness that we boast (2 Corinthians 12:9), that He might be shown, yes?! Over and over in scripture, we see God using men who are so much less "qualified" than what He has called them to. But that's the point, isn't it? That He would do things so great with people who appear not to be that He would be glorified, worshiped. He uses men like Noah, Abram, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Daniel, David, Matthew, Mark, John, Thomas, and Paul. All of these men, and many more throughout the Bible, are not who society would have chosen to do what they did. But that's just it. They didn't do it. And they would all be the first to say this. It was God. It was always God. It always is God. He used these weak and feeble men who were willing to lean on God, to rest in His plan and strength. And what He did with every one of these men is nothing short of miraculous and amazing!
Take Gideon for instance. In Judges chapter 6 we are introduced to a young man named Gideon, who is threshing wheat in a wine press, to hide it from the Midianites who were oppressing the Israelites. The Angel of The Lord commissions Gideon (in a somewhat comical conversation. Gideon's responses are so honest) to lead the army that would eventually defeat Midian and free his people. When he begins, Gideon gathers an army of 32,000 men. God tells Gideon that this army has too many men. He says, "I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against Me." (Judges 7:2) So Gideon cuts it down to 10,000 men. Again God tells him that there are too many men. Gideon then, following God's command, finally has an 'army' of 300 men. 300 men! He began with an army of 32,000! But God says to Gideon, "With the three hundred men...I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home." (Judges 7:7). And God did just that! In an amazing miracle told in Judges 7, God defeats the Midianites with just 300 men, led by Gideon! And He did this so that they would boast about what God has done. He did not allow them to think it was by their hand, by anything that they could have done. Because 300 men (Sorry Gerard Butler) cannot defeat an entire army. But the One true God certainly can! And He did! Amen!
I have felt God giving me much of this same treatment while being here in India. It hasn't always been incredibly easy, to be honest, but He continues to give me no excuse but to boast in Him. And I cannot complain about that. How could I? What would I say? "Aw man, God did it again, but He just HAD to do it His way, and leave me no choice but to praise His Name..." lol yeah, it really is as ridiculous as that sounds! He does keep giving me these amazing opportunities to boast in my weakness, however, that He would be glorified!
Take for instance Christmas day. We went to two churches, one in the morning for a short, encouragement message, and at night, for a long (the longest I've given in fact) sermon on the Christmas story, what we celebrate, and why we celebrate it! I felt like God was leading me talk about sin, and how His coming down here was a direct result of His incredible plan to save us wretched, hopeless sinners. With the translation, the sermon lasted about 45 minutes, and we wrapped it up for what would be a late night. I felt confident that God was going to do a good work, but as usual, He blew my expectations out of the water! In the church, there was roughly 55-60 people. After the service was complete, 10 or so people said that they wanted to repent of their sins and trust in the Lord who came as a baby, lived as a man, and died as a savior! Hallelujah, Amen! I could hardly believe it. They kept saying thank you to me for the words, and I realized what it means to have a humility before God. Because it wasn't me. It wasn't my words. It wasn't my passion, my work, my breath, none of it. It was Him. His work. His Spirit. It was God. He just chose to allow me to be a part of it! And in this knowledge, I felt God almost patting me on the back, as if to say, "Well done, son!" And it was so freaking good, I tell ya!
I thank God that He continues to give me no excuse. That He doesn't leave me room to boast in anything that I do, but instead blows my expectations out of the water. I pray that He would continue to do this, and that I would continue to be reminded of my everlasting need of Him, and of my humble place before Him. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." -James 4:10.
I love this quote. It puts things into perspective for me. A lot. It puts such a huge emphasis on God that it leaves no excuse to the man. It is in our weakness that we boast (2 Corinthians 12:9), that He might be shown, yes?! Over and over in scripture, we see God using men who are so much less "qualified" than what He has called them to. But that's the point, isn't it? That He would do things so great with people who appear not to be that He would be glorified, worshiped. He uses men like Noah, Abram, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Daniel, David, Matthew, Mark, John, Thomas, and Paul. All of these men, and many more throughout the Bible, are not who society would have chosen to do what they did. But that's just it. They didn't do it. And they would all be the first to say this. It was God. It was always God. It always is God. He used these weak and feeble men who were willing to lean on God, to rest in His plan and strength. And what He did with every one of these men is nothing short of miraculous and amazing!
Take Gideon for instance. In Judges chapter 6 we are introduced to a young man named Gideon, who is threshing wheat in a wine press, to hide it from the Midianites who were oppressing the Israelites. The Angel of The Lord commissions Gideon (in a somewhat comical conversation. Gideon's responses are so honest) to lead the army that would eventually defeat Midian and free his people. When he begins, Gideon gathers an army of 32,000 men. God tells Gideon that this army has too many men. He says, "I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against Me." (Judges 7:2) So Gideon cuts it down to 10,000 men. Again God tells him that there are too many men. Gideon then, following God's command, finally has an 'army' of 300 men. 300 men! He began with an army of 32,000! But God says to Gideon, "With the three hundred men...I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home." (Judges 7:7). And God did just that! In an amazing miracle told in Judges 7, God defeats the Midianites with just 300 men, led by Gideon! And He did this so that they would boast about what God has done. He did not allow them to think it was by their hand, by anything that they could have done. Because 300 men (Sorry Gerard Butler) cannot defeat an entire army. But the One true God certainly can! And He did! Amen!
I have felt God giving me much of this same treatment while being here in India. It hasn't always been incredibly easy, to be honest, but He continues to give me no excuse but to boast in Him. And I cannot complain about that. How could I? What would I say? "Aw man, God did it again, but He just HAD to do it His way, and leave me no choice but to praise His Name..." lol yeah, it really is as ridiculous as that sounds! He does keep giving me these amazing opportunities to boast in my weakness, however, that He would be glorified!
Take for instance Christmas day. We went to two churches, one in the morning for a short, encouragement message, and at night, for a long (the longest I've given in fact) sermon on the Christmas story, what we celebrate, and why we celebrate it! I felt like God was leading me talk about sin, and how His coming down here was a direct result of His incredible plan to save us wretched, hopeless sinners. With the translation, the sermon lasted about 45 minutes, and we wrapped it up for what would be a late night. I felt confident that God was going to do a good work, but as usual, He blew my expectations out of the water! In the church, there was roughly 55-60 people. After the service was complete, 10 or so people said that they wanted to repent of their sins and trust in the Lord who came as a baby, lived as a man, and died as a savior! Hallelujah, Amen! I could hardly believe it. They kept saying thank you to me for the words, and I realized what it means to have a humility before God. Because it wasn't me. It wasn't my words. It wasn't my passion, my work, my breath, none of it. It was Him. His work. His Spirit. It was God. He just chose to allow me to be a part of it! And in this knowledge, I felt God almost patting me on the back, as if to say, "Well done, son!" And it was so freaking good, I tell ya!
I thank God that He continues to give me no excuse. That He doesn't leave me room to boast in anything that I do, but instead blows my expectations out of the water. I pray that He would continue to do this, and that I would continue to be reminded of my everlasting need of Him, and of my humble place before Him. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." -James 4:10.
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